


Waking up

by Longwinterynights



Category: Fallout 4
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fallout, Apocalypse, Character Study, Gay, Gen, Loss, M/M, Out of Character, POV Male Character, Post-Nuclear War, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Romance, Slow Burn, Survivor Guilt, Worldbuilding
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-01-31
Updated: 2016-06-16
Packaged: 2018-05-19 08:19:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 19
Words: 25,856
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5960536
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Longwinterynights/pseuds/Longwinterynights
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Nobody was ment to be waking up like this. Exploring feels of waking up from 200 years worth of freezing sleep. I love the setting of Fallout so I want to explore it through writing. Here and there I touch upon game events but mostly this is character building and relationship building with certain synthetic detective. Updating tags and characters as they enter the frame.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Waking up

**Author's Note:**

> (I Usually I'm a one off person so this is a challenge. The first chapter is kinda re-telling of game's intro but I'll break free of format in second chapter)

Nobody was ment to be waking up like this.

All numb, with fingers barely giving response. Only his eyes were operating. Time, what time? Aiden could feel the time passing in front of his face and he couldn’t do a damn thing about it. Slowly as time passed his limbs started responding and soon moving. His first attempt at walking resulted in dropping down to the hard floor. While lying on harsh metal floor he was so glad to be feeling again. He slammed the metal hud in front of his face. He tried leg and miraculously, the door slung open.

First step and Aiden barely grasped in the side of pod as his legs gave up and he fell on cold floor again. He gasped as air travelled within his lungs. His insides felt torrid and heavy, air within lungs burned. Aiden slumped and started coughing, trying to cackle the bad air out. His claws grasping the metal he coughed good minute. He tried vomiting but nothing came out. Just that horrid stomach liquid taste. He needed water to wash this out. Water?

Aiden hauled himself back to sitting position, finally letting go of metal frame.

He consciously focused on breathing. He let air flow in and slowly lifted his head. Neck muscles cricked but were onboard nevertheless. His eyes fixated on roof. He had barely had any time accessing surroundings when they were pushed into the pods. His re-waking brain decided this would be great time to study. Seeing all the metal made him uneasy. This was like being swallowed alive by some fantastic beast. How would he had coped living in here?

Gently he looked downwards, to the long line of pods. He had been one amongst many.

This thought kicked in stark realization. Air whistled within dry lungs. Images rushed in. Sharp alert whistles, getting pushed around, Shaun crying. Shaun?

Rush kicked his stomach. It told him to get up. He put feet down and hands to ground and pushed himself up. Legs felt weak and sloppy when he carried himself over to the pod across his own. He saw Nora, frozen in unnatural pose. Shaun was nowhere to be found. He banged on the pod, hurting himself. How do you get this thing open? He looked around and everything looked the same. He could had probably missed the leaver if it hadn’t been crimson and jumped out of all dab grey so darn well. Aiden pulled the leaver.

Pod door slided open way too slow. Nora lied still, Shaun was nowhere to be found. He tried reaching to her. Bullet hole on head was all. Aiden felt cold, he felt lost and alone. All emotions struck at once. Somehow he managed to stay on two feet. He squeezed hands around his shoulders as his body started shaking and eyes watered. There was nothing left. Tears clamped in his frames and he sniffed uncontrollably. He hadn’t even looked at other pods but he knew it didn’t matter.

Cheeks wallowing he looked to the right. Bright red leaver on huge metal door caught his attention. He massaged his shoulders, shivering. Cold was going right to his bones. He couldn’t stay here. Aiden looked at his wife one last time, gasping.

“I… I’m going to be back”, he whispered faintly. 

He turned his back and slowly put one feet in front of another. Joints cracked faintly under pressure but he didn’t fall. Numbness of limbs was slowly going away. He kept his arms firmly wrapped around his chest until he reached the door. He was surprised the mechanism was still fully functional. Which raised question how this could had happened. He watched as door unfold and another memory surfaced. Shaun had been taken away by scientists. Except one of them wasn’t bearing anything sciency about him. Stepping into next tube the coldness let up a bit. That’s where the smell started. Aiden’s stomach sharply rejected. He had smelled something similar when he had visited cousin’s farm as a kid. But shit never smelled this foul. He tried covering nose with hand but the stench had already made nest in his tastebuds. He quickly discovered the source of it all.

In the middle of cold floor lied giant cockroach corpse next to a human remains. Sight went right to his core. Body lied face down, dressed in vault suit. Under skeletal hand lied police baton. Aiden stared at monstrous cockroach. He never wanted to be this aware of anatomy of this repugnant creature. Neck tickled and forced out a cough that echoed in chamber. Suddenly air filled with loud rustling. Oh Christ no.

Aiden looked on skeleton and the baton suddenly became very inviting. He reached towards weapon. He gasped as his finger touched bare bone and he quickly stepped back with baton. Door to hallway was open and he could see skittering big legs coming.

Aiden had seen plenty of cockroaches but usually rolled up newspaper was enough to tame them. This one looked like it had escaped from the pages of Space Tales. Instinctly Aiden plundered ugly critter somewhere on head region with baton. Insect hissed and caused shivers down his spine. Aiden swatted again, this time hitting the hardened shell. Impact cracked cockroach’s shell. It’s gooy insides splattered all over him. Aiden almost vomited, trying to furiously swipe the foul liquid off.

He had no time to be even properly grossed out when he was ambushed by another crawler. He stepped backwards avoiding the grasp of strong jaws. He swiped the air infront of mob, trying to intimidate it. Cockroach rammed towards him twice as angrier. Aiden whipped the area around jaws and found something soft that responded well to beating. Final beating cracked vermin’s neck. Aiden should had seen this coming.

He winced. It was in his glasses, in his nose, all over his arms and body.

Cockroach corpse fell on its back and he throw baton away and started rigorously wiping off avocado paste from his face. How did that vault tech slogan go again? Revolutionizing safety for… an uncertain future? How awfully appropriate.

He turned around remembering the remains of fellow vault dweller. That’s some nice fabric, friend. Disgusted he picked up the skeleton by shoulders. Its head popped right down to the floor. Aiden zipped open the suit and shook the bones out. He wiped his face to the fabric that didn’t take dirt very well. The stench was still there but at least it wasn’t in his nose. Ready, he picked up the baton and proceeded down the corridor.

He walked through offices, peeked through abandoned kitchen and stopped by staff room. Everything was eerily silent. All he could hear was silent dripping of water. He noticed gas mask hanging on the wall and ran for it. He slipped mask around his wrist. He needed it for sure if he ever found an exit.

Aiden stopped by computer terminal, kicking yet another skeleton out of his way. He couldn’t anywhere. Curiously he grabbed the drawer of desk and to his surprise they weren’t locked. Documents within were lined up fine. He absolutely had to mess it up. It was worth it as he found duct tape and some bullets. He opened second drawer and found 10 mm handgun. How handy was that?

Behind offices he arrived to the sorting hallway. They had spent whole minute and half there. Seeing more skeletons failed to ring feeling anymore. He felt just, sad. He ascended with tired legs up to a platform. He saw the entrance, just like he remembered it. He did some more scavenging but he quickly forgot about it when he noticed what one of skeletons was carrying. Or, had. He reached down and grabbed the bone arm. Bone was stony, very mucous and way too real for him to hold on too long. He pried Pip-boy off dead man’s wrist and fashioned it onto his own. He still carried childish fascination for these things. Nothing in his daily life had been even remotely similar looking. It was such a strange contraption.

Aiden gently wiped dust off the screen and sneezed. He poked the device gently. He noticed plug on the back of screen. Poke enough and the processor kicked up as silent whirring began. He was greeted by familiar face of vault boy and that smug grin of his. Various numbers ran on screen until the operating system booted up. Judging by looks, the device was still functional. He allowed little smile. Aiden turned his attention to the console in front of him. If memory served right there had been operator on this very spot. Was this the lift mechanism? He looked around, noticing plug hole that he had seen just now. He grabbed the plug from pip-boy and slotted it the hole. Processor whirring intensified and he was startled by sound of metal. Screen told of successful connection. Suddenly the large metal fence started opening and the way to elevator became clear. Aiden gasped. He wasn’t exactly prepared for war, whatever was out there.

He unplugged the pip-boy. As he rushed to the entrance he pulled gas mask over his head. It wasn’t made of complete holes. As he stepped to the metal and as he did he felt the hydraulics puffing and started pushing him up. To the exit.


	2. New Sanctuary

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sole survivor arrives home. What's left of it. Meets Codsworth, comes in grips with reality he's woken up to. Sad dad.

As heavy metal doors opened Aiden braced himself for the worst. Gas mask in face and pitiful 10 mm pistol at hand he faced the world. Sky was clear, glimmering in bright midday light. It wasn’t amber of scarlet as he had imagined. It was quite lovely, actually. Aiden touched mask and then looked down on his palms. Gentle breeze danced on his arm. Aiden lift his hand up, allowing soft wind to get under sleeve and sway the fabric. Old plastic wheezed and reeked right in his face. How much radioactivity was there?

Man stretched his arms up, hearing tiny creek from bones. He had been sealed in stiff air for past how many years now and it sure felt like it. Aiden eyes fixated up at the pip boy and he quickly started clicking through menus. What’s this? Radioactivity counter. There long line that got redder as it went further right. Little bar was sitting in firm zero. Man assessed his surroundings and tried lifting the device upwards. If this thing was in need of tuning this would be worst time to find it out. But he decided to risk it.

Aiden breathed sight of relief upon drawing the mask off his face. He stood there still for a moment. He didn’t get whooping cough or well, die. So maybe the counter was right. He slid gas mask’s plastic holster around his belt and checked twice it was tightly there. He walked off the platform, meeting very familiar sight even 200 years after. He remembered the day when Sanctuary Hills was being constructed. It was marketed as one of safest neighborhoods and marketed specifically for newlyweds.

He started ascending down the path to the valley. Everything natural was gone but curiously the little plank over stream was still there. Still supporting an adult’s weight. Sanctuary was characterized as just that. The little stream around neighborhood was simply charming. Yards were big, designed for gardening and grill party activities. There was elementary school less than stone’s throw away and many factories were recruiting new workers. It was a right time to become a parent.

Houses stood silent. Remains of old paint could still be seen. Picket fences were still standing like the day they planted. Except at the backyard of Mr White where a car had crashed. Aiden followed the tracks to the backyard. Mr White’s garden had been the pride and joy of Sanctuary. Traces of old gardening house could still be seen. Once it was filled with grapevines, raspberries, vegetables and various exotic flowers. Aiden peaked through kicked through windows. There was but a silent reek and molded black pond on the floor. He turned away in disgust. Car had smashed other half of garden house. Whatever happened to Mr White? Aiden felt ripping warmth pass through and he fought the tears away. He had to press on.

He walked with tired legs. He checked on more houses, slowly coming closer to the one house. While walking he remembered that while there was still day left, it would end eventually. He needed to find shelter. These old beaten shelters were his best bet.

Aiden wasn’t sure what he felt when he walked through familiar door. Seeing your home not only raided but vandalized by nature and time, all he could feel was silent shiver. And suddenly he heard a sharp whistling sound followed by clicking servos. Aiden turned around quickly, gun drawn at whoever was behind him. It was Mr Handy robot. His Mr Handy.

“Mister Aiden! It’s really you”, Codsworth sounded like his soundboard had been couple hundred years unused. Slight whiz but it was definitely Codsworth.

“Codsworth! You’re alive”  
“Yes, sir. As always, I am”  
Aiden stared at chromed coating that was showing rust but still held together by whatever force: “How… How did you?”  
“Was that a question? It’s just a little radioactivity”, dry and sarcastic as always: “As product of General Atomics I was built to last. Say, where’s Nora? And little Shaun? Last I saw you were all tucked away in line for that vault”

Aiden’s frows lowered. Worry returned: “I.. don’t know. Nora is dead. Shaun is… gone”  
Codsworth’s attentive eye whizzed and widened in horror: “They what not?”  
Aiden bursted: “The vault was, we were in ice and in the middle of all some people came and took Shaun and Nora tried protecting but she was-”, his voice trailed off. Aiden’s posture dropped as he broke to tears. He couldn’t hold it in anymore.

“Now now, sir, I-“  
“Who would do such thing, he’s just a boy”, he hid his embarrassment into a palm.  
“Sir. If I may advice. As I have been staying here and cleaning past 200 years”  
Aiden stopped sobbing, wiping his face quickly on the sleeve. That was still bug gooey, ew. “How many years now?”  
“203, to be exact”  
Aiden stared at Codsworth unblinkingly: “It’s…. It’s been how many years?”  
“203 years since war ended. Sir”, he sounded cranky.

Aiden let out uncomprehending mumble. He slowly walked around remains of his living room. His feet slowly moved him to kitchen. Kitchen sink had fallen through rotted wood years ago. He walked on debris consisting of wood cabinets, stove technology and shattered lamp glass. 203 years. His eyes stared at ground as he walked to hallway that led to bathroom and bedrooms. Bathroom surprisingly was full of items. He saw miscellaneous pile of boxes, metal, duct tape and food cans.

“In case of you… and Missuses return I’ve been gathering some items you might find useful, sir”  
Aiden stared at pile. He couldn’t comprehend it now: “Thanks”, he said without feeling and slowly walked on.

He stopped at Shaun’s room. Codsworth silently whirred within earshot but still at a very polite distance. Wind blew through gaps at the walls. He noticed how clean the floor was. He moved to the bedroom. Old drawer and bed were still at the same place. Just in whole a lot worse condition. At window he could see rest of Sanctuary. Sun was going down. This is as good as it was going to get.

“Codsworth?”  
“Yes, sir?”  
“Can you… Keep watch? I would want to be alone for awhile”

“By all means”, he wondered if Codsworth understood. Or was the look in his robot stare just disappointment. Aiden slid down on floor, pressing back against the old bed’s end. He placed 10 mm pistol next to him and lied his head against cold wood. He would fall asleep 4 hours later.


	3. Next Morning

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Aiden takes walk out the sanctuary and finds old gas station and its last remaining employee.

Man’s sleep was restless. He sat there eyes closed somewhere between conscious and asleep. Something was creeping just behind the slumber. As morning dawned, Aiden found himself on floor curled into a ball. He groaned silently and pushed himself up. He picked up pistol and put it on his belt. He needed to improvise better holster for it.

Aiden stumbled out of bedroom, stopping at the storage room. Daylight lit up the small room, revealing boxes and various debris scattered in space. Curiosity won, he jumped to the room and started opening cardboard and shuffling through.  
There was a suitcase containing his old tux and carefully pressed blue dress. Oh, Nora. There was even pair of footwear for both. Aiden carefully sealed the case. He held onto the tattered surface, treasuring the moment before departing.  
Piles of broken machinery and toyboards didn’t speak to him. His stomach however did and his hand grabbed onto can of soup. No can opener but the broken hammerhead did the job. Aiden was happily having his soup when his smart wrist came alive and started warning with loud clicks. Aiden jumped up, backing away from the room.

“Codsworth?”, Aiden called.  
Calm and collected clicking and Bunsen burner sound rolled around: “Morning, sir!”  
“What’s in the boxes?”, Aiden waved his left arm towards room, as ticking grew more frequent.  
“Oh just something I thought to be valuable to you sir. Old photos, some electronics, metal that was just clogging up space”.  
Aiden looked back at his wrist: “Those… are not the clicking source, right?”  
“No sir, that would be on your other hand”  
Aiden weighted opened can of soup on his right hand.  
“Just a little radioactivity”, Codsworth dismissed. Aiden almost spat but the food was already in. He put the can into the pile: “Everything you find in nature is more or less... contaminated”

Aiden groaned. Vault dweller out in wild without food, water or medicine. He had probably week’s worth of living left. His misery was interrupted by Codsworth holding something, presenting it to him: “Ah here we are. While you were busy with running a family I ran some errands of my own. Including this”, dark orange glass bottle tinkled gently as it dropped in Aiden’s palm. Faded label red Rad-x.

“Codsworth, you.. you’re a gift!”  
Worn and beaten robot did light bobbing motion, clearly hushing him: “You’re welcome”, he added with slightly beaten tone: “Don’t ask how many sticks I had to endure to keep them safe”  
Aiden frowned: “There’s other people?”  
“They’re not quite keen on strangers. I wouldn’t advice waving at them”  
Aiden placed hand on his pistol. Surely they couldn’t be that bad?  
“Back to that rad-x. One pill is 6 hours of safety. So please be mindful and consider finding more. There’s settlements not too far away from ours”  
Aiden looked at Codsworth’s beaten metal cast. Electrician’s mind was restless: “How are you functioning?”, Aiden cut the conversation.  
“It’s but a scratch, sir”  
“It allows all moisture inside. Damages your servos and wires”, Aiden was distressed about the state of his butler bot. And everything else.

 

Aiden clicked through menus of his oversized wrist watch. He found the map of Boston. Everything was as he remembered but he wondered how fresh the update was. What he saw on the hill overlooking sanctuary hills and forests behind the pond… It wasn’t the same.

Cautiously man set off for a walk. Pistol at belt and nightfall by his side. At broad daylight he would had been seen by everyone. Roadside was littered by car wreckage. Bonnets were rised, doors open and windshields smashed. Anything that could be taken, were taken. Some vehicles were already claimed by nature. Thick yellow grass pushed through floors. Small sprouts had taken home under the seats. It was a comforting sight. One car had crashed on the gas sign. Aiden sneaked off the road, jumping to the bushes. He was greeted by rough blades, cutting through his frail palm skin.

Behind the hills opened invitingly red diner. Aiden remembered vividly how this place used to look. He had stopped here plenty of times to refill the tank and get his car fixed. It’s the garage he was after, hoping nobody else had same idea. He pushed his head down, eyes fixated at the building. Old memory at the back of head was whispering details. Watch and wait.

Something roundy and unalarmed floathed up behind the garage doors. Old Mister Handy, circa same era as Codsworth. He heard faint beeps. Aiden remembered this robot. It had been the proud investment of station owner. Brought on board to perform all mundane tasks like checking tires and refilling tanks. Such waste of good technology. Ironically it was this unfeeling machine that seemed to have drawn longest straw in the fight for survival. Aiden looked at pistol and then the bot. The way the robot limped around made Aiden all more sadder.

“Mister Aiden! So good to see you”, robot greeted him like no time had passed at all.  
Aiden smiled politely: “Andrew! Years… haven’t been kind to you”  
“My but Mister Aiden, I was built to last! Life time guaranteed. Check ups yearly. You should know this being engineer yourself.  
Aiden nodded silently. There indeed was a factory guarantee on Mr Handys… Aiden had never followed that particular rule.  
“I was hoping to buy some”, he looked at heap of rubbish that was the diner indoors. “Car wash”.  
Mister Handy looked excited: “Why of course! And don’t forget the soap for the dishes!”, both excitedly waved at the heap of trash. Aiden blinked.

He walked past the handy, among all the collapsed roof and walls there was a tiny walkway. Carefully swept by last employee of this establishment. Among rubble lied burnt magazine stands, gift baskets, instant potato mash packages, car accessories, cables and wires. Aiden looked back to the handy that whistled happily now outside. It rolled around old gas tanks. All were collapsed, just one standing and that rusted through the red paint. Around the yard lied old cars. One missing tires, other also engine, third had dry corpse sitting behind the wheel. Mr Handy picked up a bucket and started merrily cleaning the pillars around tanks. It furiously wiped rusted metal full of age and bullets.

“Thank you and do come again. Give your wife my regards!”  
Aiden walked with heavy feet. He carried salvaged metal, screwdriver and plastic bottle full of sanitizing liquid. Walk to Sanctuary was short but felt like ages due the gravity of his head.

Back to Sanctuary Aiden walked around houses with leftover soup at hand. All garages wide open but contained not what he needed. It was only when he discovered hidden basement door things started moving. He spent good while with screwdriver losing the old bolts of the door.

“Here you go”, Codsworth floated to him, offering can full of water. Aiden took a sip of it.  
“It doesn’t have the right taste at all”, Aiden sneered. “I’m doing my best, sir”, Codsie huffed.  
“It’s alright”, he waved, giving back the can and stepping down the ladder. He was greeted with foul stench and had to exit it as quickly as he had entered. “Christ!”

At least the basement had metalworking table and some tools still intact.


	4. Dream

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Aiden dreams childhood

Summer night was potent with smell of freshly turned soil. Grass felt harsh under bare toes, there was a little promise of rain in the skyline. Young redhead slided over fence to the open field. Warm mould ticked all around the toes.  
“Aiden, the hell was the hold up?”  
Young boy put his feet up to the stepping ladder and hauled himself sitting behind the wheel of red tractor. Tim, shy black haired boy from neighbour. Ann, youngest and foulest mouthed. He would had been foul too if had the longest walking trip. And Nina who was almost as devious in developing schemes.  
Kids sat around the driver’s seat. Nina tapped his shoulder: “So what are we waiting for?”  
Tim rub the collar of his blue-striped shirt: “What are we doing?”  
“Mister Henricks’ cabbages. Let’s go grab some”, Aiden turned the engine on. Deep growl echoed from motor. Tim grabbed his shoulder too: “Mister Henricks? But he… just fixed his fence”  
“Yeah, it’s not the fence we want dumbass”  
Pipe pushed out black smoke and Aiden hit the pedal. He had spent day driving and already knew the ropes well enough. He drove through mud, throwing black stuff everywhere. They slid up to the road. Only bit of asphalt found in the town. They saw the blackened windows on opposite side of road. Clock was well past midnight. It was horrible waste to spend summer night sleeping. Huge tires hit the pavement end like a whiplash, sending kids sliding on their spots.  
Nina giggled, rest hushed her. They were truly in stealth mission. Aiden turned the wheels to the open field. Endless lines of beautiful cabbage heads. In midnight they looked all huey blue.  
“Alright”, kids jumped down from the machine. Aiden joined them, eyes at the house far away. If even small hint of light glimmered… “Hey! Get digging”, Ann slapped cabbage on his hand, full of mud and fresh smell of grass. They scooped up the cabbages, throwing them in the tractor. Aiden took a bite off fresh leaves, enjoying the hell out of it. In moderation, he enjoyed vegetables. Couple bites later, he realized what he was holding and spit out some.  
Tongue hanging out, he looked around. Out to the asphalt and distance to the far left. He saw line of red barn.  
He looked slowly at others: “Guys. I have another idea”.  
Tim looked frightened with his hands full of bitten cabbages. Ann was eating one very happily, Nina kicked one away: “Yeah?”  
“Let’s feed these to cows”, he pointed at the barn.  
Nina let out snorting giggle: “As if Hendricks and Ford needed another reason to not get along!”, she was onboard. Silence and slow climbing climb to the tractor indicated agreement from all. They climb back to the tractor. As they climbed back to pavement half-aten green roll dropped off the carriage.  
Aiden drove sharply to the third neighbour’s yard. Yellow house peeked behind barns.  
Aiden pushed open the barn door. Greetings were written in cow poop and flies.  
Cows in various splashes of brown, white and brown sat down on their barns, all silent and hazy. They put cabbages down to the feeding tubs. Few cows climb up their feet, curious about human interaction.

The grand plan was that they wouldn’t get caught. That the neighbours would bicker amongst themselves. That was the most sorest beating Aiden ever got.

\---  
Morning was damp and half-empty like man’s cup. Aiden leaned on the doorway of his old house, staring into the rainstorm. He could still smell the ripe cabbage and fresh soil. Ground smelled in new world but it was layered, full of terrors and uncertainty.


	5. Settlement

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Aiden comes in contact with some settlers

“This is remarkable”

Codsworth whirred silently, holding still as his sidedoor was being tampered with. Pip boy plug was compatible with just about everything. Just a regular day with mister. Aiden thumbed the hardware and it pulled out numbers: “I’m flabbergasted that you’re still running with a same core as 200 years ago, codsworth”  
“General Atomics were onto something, I knew it”, british butler mumbled stoicly.  
Among all the power usage reports, health diagnoses and hardware updates he found one rather alarming line.  
“It says you should be out of service”, Aiden touched the glowing green screen softly: “That… You’re overdue for service”  
“You never followed those orders, now did you?”, Codsie turned. The little side panel at his left had marks of numerous tamperings over years. So much so the bolts and soldering glew slightly shinier among all the wind-beaten rust.  
“No. But still”. Aiden thumbed back to power use charts. He quickly calculated bots current power usage and divided it with estimated power left. Number was old and optimistic. It didn’t make him feel any easier.  
“Say, sir. How would you feel about a little walk? You haven’t seen any humans and I’m quite sure just talking to a robot will make you all more worried”, Codsworth offered chipperly. Aiden looked at his butler and unplugged the machine. Codsworth whirred with sigh of relief out of garage.  
Aiden put the plus back in the machine. He leaned back in his chair, studying the little mountains of items he had managed to salvage from around the houses. A lot of metal, some electronics. He was just working on disassembling old radio. There was perfectly good transistor. He grabbed it and put it in his bag.  
“Do they do trading?”  
“I’d wager so, sir”  
He shoved some copper wires, circuitry, batteries and few important tools in his bag. Screwdriver, wire cutter, wrench, soldering tools and gloves. Finally he grabbed the 10 mm and put it in little holster he had fashioned on the belt.

“You sure wanna leave the place?”  
Two crossed over stream, walking among cars.  
“Accompanying you sir is much more important”  
They walked down the path, Codsworth led them to the sidepath and very quickly Aiden could see outline of a small camp. There was few stones with scribblings on them. One had candle next to it and withered flowers. The camp was lined with man-height walls made of house parts and metallic fences. Behind it they saw people with guns patrolling. They were sighted quickly.

“That’s close enough”, a voice yelled from behind the barricade.  
A man walked down behind the barricade. Middle-aged, heavy built, had some sort of armor strapped to his body that looked to be made of car tires: “What’s your business, stranger?”  
Aiden showed his hands, standing as harmless looking as he possibly could: “Please, I’m only here to do trading”. And to talk to someone.  
“Very well. But keep your iron strapped. What’s in the bag?”  
Aiden lowered his hands and pulled out his bag. Showing the insides full of wires and repairing tools.  
“Are you a repairman by any chance?”, guard’s eyes sharpened.  
“I’m… I was an electrician before everything… the war”, he mumbled.  
Guard eyed him sharply. Couple others were hanging at the wall, looking down on them. Codsworth moved behind him stressfully.  
“Now that I look at you, you are bit too clean to be a raider. Or a settler”, man poked the pip boy at his arm: “Where did you get that?”  
Aiden didn’t like the shade this conversation was taking. He tried returning back to something man mentioned earlier. See if he could get to his good side via exchange: “You mentioned repairing. I can repair things. Is there a need for that?”  
Guard looked at the wall. Older lady chewed on cigarette, finally taking it out between her lips: “Yeah, we have a faulty water supply. Lake is near but we’d prefer clean water”, woman’s voice was raspy and commanding.  
“It’d be either faulty purifier. Or dirty pipes”, he had fixed water supplies pre-war. How difficult could it be: “I have some tools with me. And parts. I’d take a look at it”.  
Lady shrugged. Guard looked at him: “Get in then. We will know if you’ve done any funny business with it”, door opened. Aiden stepped towards the gate when he felt the tap of shoulderbutt on his shoulder: “And that applies to that thing too”.  
Codsworth wheed. They walked through the gates. They were greeted by few lines of crops with few people down in dirt, cleaning out the weeds. Codsworth’s motor burned silently, letting out little speeding sound as he followed.

Guard walked next to him: “What is your name?”  
“Aiden”  
“Rust”, man extended his hairy hand at him. They shook hands. The grasp was very firm. Very much a wake up call: “Lady on the wall was Judith”  
He let Rust lead him to the camp. Simple sanitation stations, toilet and few make-shift shacks. Behind the shacks he saw line of cows and heard the moo too.  
“How do you manage in here?”, Aiden didn’t like the silence.  
“When weather is nice, it’s not too bad. When it storms, it’s bad”  
Short and sweet, alright: “Is it because the walls?”  
Rust looked at him with slight irritation: “Yes”.  
He was meaning leaking preventing of course but… words were expensive.  
“Here we are”. Aiden looked at the pipe. He kneeled over, smelling it: “Smells like mud”, he noted. Rust made seat at the nearby sunchair. He was soon joined by short boy who sat on the chair next to him.

“Dad, who’s he?”  
“Some stranger. He promised to check the pipe”  
“That’s good”  
Silence. Suddenly boy spoke again: “Dad”  
“Yeah”  
“Mom won’t stop vomiting”  
Rust put his hand on boy’s back, hugging him with half embrace. Aiden’s eyes quickly returned to the task at hand. He had to push the feelings back.

Aiden got out the wrench and started screwing open the cap. He cleaned out some mud climps from the tip. Next he moved to the machine that was hooked behind the pipe.  
“Is the electricity turned off?”, he asked.  
Rust got up from chair: “Moment”, he slumbered behind a wall. Loud whiring got lower, he realized that sound had been in his head all this time. Aiden put on his gloves and screwed open the panel, studying the simple machinery. The craftsmanship was crude. He immediately spotted black spot behind one wire. It had overloaded and burned the wires. Lucky it hadn’t caught bigger fire.  
Aiden dug out his soldering kit and copper wires. Rust and his son looked at him curiously.  
“Codsworth, can I borrow your electricity?”, Aiden asked.  
“Of course”. He plugged the blue hot machine onto the handy. It needed moment to warm up. He cut piece from copper, rolling it between his fingers. He looked down on his hands for a moment. Pressing firmly against soft amber wire, he realized his hands were completely stable.  
“What had happened to it?”, Rust asked, staring at his small workbench curiously.  
“Wires have overloaded and burned. Who did this?”  
“Old Jacob”, Rust answered silently.  
“Give him my greetings that wiring should be close to the plastic”  
“He ain’t here anymore”, man answered. Aiden looked at big man puzzled, not sure what he ment. It took him embarrassingly long to connect the dots. The gravestones at the front yard.

Aiden carefully joined two metals together. Sharp blue smoke filled his nose. He hadn’t smelled soldering in such a long time. He pressed new wire in its place, hand moving careful and slow as he ensured the fix was good and safe.  
“Contact should be good”, he spoke softly to Codsie.  
“It is. Your hands. They are so stable”, robot spoke softly. Aiden fixed few more connects before closing the box and reinstalling it. He ran his finger along the wire, checking it for any possible cracks as a final measure. He reached the generator and put the power back on.  
Ear drumming noise got loud again and he backed away from the machine. He turned electricity back on and listened closely as machine powered back on. No surprise sounds, the generator purred softly.  
“It sounds good”, Rust compliment. He handed Aiden a mug, saying he should be first one to test.  
It was a brilliant move. Nervously he turned the tap and to his delight the water was pure.

“So how are your nails to clean?”  
“We gotta keep drinking if you want to believe my story”.  
Judith laughed cackling old laughter. She sat at folding chair, legs crossed, smoking how manieth cigarette. Every time she offered him a smoke. At third time Aiden had to accept or it would had been rude.  
“Humor me, lad”, voice was slick from casually sipped mutfruit cider.  
Aiden rolled the can between his fingers: “Well. I was put in vault. But I was in a freezer and I stayed there forgotten for some… 200 years”.  
Rust gazed on, said nothing. Judith’s face went through all sorts of emotions, finally the sweetly aged face ripped into uncontrollable laughter. Good thing she didn’t drop her cider: “I said humor me, not kill me”.   
She grabbed his cheek and pinched bit too friendly: “That explains why your skin is smooth as baby’s bottom! Don’t go anywhere near Diamond City with that, they will do horrible things”  
Aiden put his can down: “Diamond what?”  
Rust scratched his head: “The great green jewelry”.  
“Do you have a map in that thing?”, Judith moved closer. Aiden pulled open map in his machine: “It’s kinda outdated”.  
“Oh no, this is fine. See it’s on here”, she tapped the Fenway park sign: “Plenty of traders to follow on road there. Can’t get lost”.  
Aiden snapped the park, typing little note on it. “It’s quite late. Would you like to stay a night, dear?”  
Day had indeed turned into night in what felt like a moment: “I… you seem cramped up”  
“Oh no, there’s always room for wanderers”.

Without much accepting for counter arguments, Aiden found himself lying in a small mattress under some shelter.   
Motor purred not too far away and he expected not getting much sleep that night. He was wrong.


	6. New faces

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Introduction of Cait

Sharp snap.  
And another.  
Aiden’s eyes opened hastily. He was greeted by wind in his ears and cold in his nose. He looked up, unfamiliar face looked down on him: “Oi, morning”, girl had curious look to her.  
Overnight he had rolled off the mattress. As he lift his head he felt his bones didn’t appreciate that.

“Uhm, hello?”, he looked after the stranger who eyed Codsworth with biggest curiosity.  
“Good morning, sir”, Codsworth greeted, turning with stranger. He didn’t trust anyone to his backside.  
“Can you not do that? His joints are rusted enough as it is”, Aiden dug out from the shelter and got to his feet.  
Girl stopped, walking to him now: “Where would you get a Mr Handy from?”, her hair was splash of burnt pepper.  
“I’ve owned him for very long time”, Aiden looked around the camp. Trading was happening around them. For such small settlement this place was ripe with visitors. Weapons, food, stories, everything was for bargain.  
“Never seen you around before. Rust mentioned about handyman”  
“That would be me”, slowly washing off the sleep dust, he squinted and got better reading of the girl. She had heavy rusted chestplate with various soldering and fixing lines running on it. Her shoulders were protected by mismatched pair of shoulders and even her boots had metallic lining on them. Over her shoulder lied a strap, behind her shoulder peeked shotgun handle. She was decked out.  
“I hope you don’t plan to do this to him”, Aiden knew his barely armed self was no match to this lady.  
“You kidding me? If I wanted a cocktail I’d head to a bar”  
He could heard Codsworth frowning his nose: “I wasn’t engineered for that”  
“Most Handys I meet are locked on tourist mode. This one actually knows more words”.  
“I pride myself in that, miss”  
Aiden rubbed the side of his neck unsurely: “Codsworth has been taking good care of himself”

“So what is your name?”  
“Cait”  
The two were sitting at the roof, feet hanging down the railing. Cait had sniper rifle in her hands. Aiden was sipping water, passing it back and forth: “So.. you stop here often?”  
“Sometimes. There’s always other stops”  
“Wanderer?”  
“Trader, scavenger, murderer. Depends the day”, she shrug.  
They watched caravan departing through main gates. From roof they could see a little better. Out in the distance they saw some more movement. As his eyes swept further he saw glimpse of burning red bridge. Behind it some collapsed cityscape. So much to take in. Old memories replacing with new info.  
“I hope you’re not in murder mood today”, Aiden tried.  
“If you’ve got caps, I’d be”  
Aiden looked at girl who continued scoping as if she hadn’t just said anything. He drank the water.

“Do you know Diamond City?”, he tried.  
“Who doesn’t?”, Cait let the scope down and finally look a look at him. Her eyeing was quick: “What’s with the mechanic’s suit?”  
“It’s more of a jumpsuit”  
“I’ll call it bloody whatever I want to”  
Fair enough. Aiden looked back to the fields again. Brahmin with a lot loaded to it slowly moved aside couple people. It was even pulling a cart. One travelled was expecting mother.  
“Rust couldn’t tell who you are. So who are you?”. It was amazing he was allowed to be in camp. Some weirdo in blue jump suit and pistol, followed by a robotic butler. It was a miracle he hadn’t been mugged. There wasn’t too many choices of action here. I mean the people of this camp seemed warming up, and they wouldn’t let in bad material. Right?

His eyes returned: “Why the curiosity?”  
“If we gonna travel to Diamond City, I wanna know who I’m going with. Possibly butting backs with”, a wink. Aiden wasn’t sure what back she was referring to.  
“I’ve.. recently come out of vault. Hence the suit. And the Mr Handy”, Codsworth whistled underneath his leg.  
“Oh wow”, she snorted: “I thought you guys were just stories or something”, she looked playful, suddenly energized by his unknowing: “So you don’t know synths or super mutants or raiders?” “What’s a synth?”, he had to break.  
Cait gasped theatrical. She put her hands on Aiden’s cheeks, holding him there. Her voice got deeper and serious: “You’re going to be so afraid”.

Aiden didn’t like that at all, grabbing girl’s hands and pulling them off. Cait cackled like a maniac: “Oh man! I’ve always wanted to do that”.  
He looked at Cait, something disturbed peeked behind the eyes.  
“Right, what do you say we go for hunting?”, she was suddenly back again. Semi-content. She hauled rifle over her shoulder and slid to the edge of roof. Before Aiden could say cat she was down on the ground. Aiden opted for using the window and coming down the stairs.

Cait walked over to traders. Aiden’s attention was caught by Rust.  
“Hey, I just wanted to thank for the hospi-”  
“It’s nothing, kid”, Rust’s kid walked curiously around Codsworth who still didn’t trust anyone to his backside.  
“Mister”  
Aiden was surprised by small words: “Yes?”, it was Rust’s kid.  
Little boy was stunned: “Uhm.. hi”  
“Hello”  
“My name’s James. Thank you. From mom”  
Aiden nodded: “You’re welcome”, a little smile. Boy couldn’t had been older than 6. Soft brown eyes, short and kinda skinny. Upon better inspection he noticed boy had something fabricy curled between his fingers. He saw bit of blood.  
He was suddenly poked between ribs. Cait put a rifle in his hands: “Shall we?”  
They exited the camp.


	7. Road

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Traveling through wastes on a wagon and meeting people

Aiden followed the trail set by Cait. Same path they had taken past couple days. Over the logs and brambles, until they reached higher ground. They watched the roads and woods, keeping eye on wildlife and possible raiders.

Sense of time was a fickle thing. Nobody aside him had any way of tracking time. Some days flowed by uneventful and time seemed to reflect that. He was less inclined to watch the time. They sat on rocks, who knew how many hours. 4? 8 hours? It was all just time. Time for person who should had been long dead by all chances.

There was little space at the back of one shack, little piece of wall separated the space. Behind it was drawer and bowl in front of it, with various chemicals stored in the drawers aside miscellaneous clothing.  
“There’s caravan heading to Diamond City tonight”, Cait spoke behind the wall.  
“Tonight? But it’ll be dark”  
“Driver is confident enough. And we’ll be protecting”  
Man shrugged at cracked mirror.  
Aiden poured some water on hands and washed his hair and face. It was surprisingly difficult without running water. He felt unclean. Tried adding bit soap and cleaned his arms to not feel so sticky. Considering he was gonna get on road it felt like a waste of water. He got dressed again, now putting on grey shirt and pants, aside blue jacket that was more brown at this point. He stuffed jumpsuit in bag aside water and ammo for pistol and rifle.

Codsworth rushed to him as they exited the house: “Have I understood right we’re gonna head to Diamond City tonight, dad?”  
Aiden frowned, not sure what about that sentence didn’t feel right to him: “Yes”  
“That’s exciting! I hope the journey goes well”  
“You could always come with me”, Aiden looked at his butler robot.  
Codsworth’s eye opened slight: “That would be an honor, sir”, he moved slightly closer, lowering his voice: “You sure we can… trust them?”  
He looked at the small cart. It was loaded with boxes, tight packaging and sleeping bag rolls. Wagon was pulled by a very sickly looking cow. Maybe sickly because he had two heads and looked like rotten turkey dinner. Aside driver there was Cait and two other guys.  
“We’ll have to put our trust in them”, Aiden clinged onto his bag.

Wagon rolled out of gate. Aiden walked with rifle at his shoulder and Codsworth whistled next to him. “I had forgotten how dark everything is without light”, Aiden said silently as they embarked the road they would be traversing from now on.  
Here and there they saw faint glow of light. Some camps had just tents, others had more fortified position with watchtowers and armed guards.  
Aiden catched up to Cait: “Do you do… business with these camps?”  
Girl bit the toothpick, eyeing the encampments: “Penny-pinching fuckers, all of them”  
“Remember how we once almost got shot?”, one of guys joined the talks: “Don’t like people passing their grounds”.  
He looked back at the fortified location. He remembered there having been farmhouse. He could see the outline of barns and farmhouse.  
He looked back to the guy: “Aiden”, he tried introducing.  
Man looked at him for a moment: “Pearce”, he finally let out: “And that is Bruce”. Bruce walked silently on other side of caravan. He had rifle at standby, ready to fire.

They pushed onto the old highway. They chose to enter old highway that lifted up from ground.  
“At least we will be on same footing in case of ambush”, Bruce breathed.  
“Ambush?”, Aiden had to ask.  
“A lot traders go through here. Always raiders”

Start of road was lined with wrecked cars. He put the light of pip boy on, assessing the spot curiously. It looked like van had cracked first and couple other cars had crashed onto it. They were centuries too late to say sorry. He could see outline of hand on dashboard. He focused putting feet in front of another as new images formed in his head. Wry skin on top of cold bones, crack on side of skull, empty ever-gazing eye holes.

Road had seen its share of wear and tear. One big hole was fixed with very rickety looking piece of metal. He held the breath as the wagon softly rolled over it.  
There was light at the middle part of road. Wagon stopped at the lane divider.  
“Just as expected”, Cait loaded her rifle: “We gotta fight through”. Bruce and Pearce sneaked through darkness, finding spots at the end of rails.  
“Stay here”, Cait talked to him: “Give cover fire”.   
“You… sure these aren’t friendly?”, he had to ask. She slapped his cheek and pointed to the right. There was tall bit of metal wall and flaming barrel. Over it on spikes hanged assortment of severed heads. Judging by the blood they were fresh, too.  
Aiden said nothing, pushed into position behind the cart with driver as Cait went ahead. Codsworth moved next to him, also hovering behind the cart.

Abrupt shot echoed in the air. Aiden held his breath. He looked carefully from side of cart. There was several guys on the stop. Cait and his guys moved well in the darkness, acting quickly when they still had the surprise. But raiders were fortified and also armed. He took aim with his rifle, scoping the situation. Flaming barrel gave little help.  
One raider dropped down from the wall and surprised Bruce, turning into heated fist fight. Abrupt bullet flew by and Aiden went back behind the cart.

“Dad, they… they are coming aren’t they?”, Codsworth asked with great sadness.  
“Yeah”, he whispered, keeping eyes peeled to the side of cart. He checked his satchel that hanged down his shoulder and on his left waist level. He heard footsteps rising and getting closer. Aiden popped out of cover, firing a shot that whistled over shoulder of one goon. Cait had engaged into hand to hand fight situation with one guy. He tumbled behind the divider, only to be greeted by another guy. Guy quickly kicked him and Aiden lost balance, falling back. He flailed on ground, kicking towards the guy and made him stumble. He grabbed rifle and butted it on guy’s leg, keeping him away from getting to the cargo.  
Guy turned on ground and grabbed him by rifle and pulled it away from his grasp. He was so invested to his firearm he completely missed the punch landing right on his face. He groaned, falling back. He could feel the blood running and the guy got on top of him.  
“Gosh killing someone this pretty sure is waste”.

Aiden froze at the words. He reached for his waist bag, pulling out first tool he could get his hands on. Guy grabbed him by throat. Aiden gagged and turned the screwdriver, hitting the sharp small end to side of guy’s face. Sharp metal ripped right through skin, making guy wail painfully. He had to cough from blood but next hit was more focused. He hit guy’s neck, sharp end piercing the jugular judging the uncontrollable blood flow. He pushed the tool with all his power on guy who’s grasp around his neck finally loosened. He coughed furiously, kicking the guy powerlessly. He was still well kicking.  
Among all the moaning and groaning they didn’t hear sharp little whoosh behind them and suddenly guy froze, letting out new pained groan. He was forced off of him by outer force that belonged to Codsworth. Robot’s one arm was a sharp spinning blade that had cut through man’s back.  
Aiden had to crawl away, spitting blood from his nose and mouth. He was face to face with a corpse and jumped off from its vicinity, trying to find people through the darkness.  
“Sir, everything alright?”, Codsworth paniced. Aiden winced but he lived.  
“Cait? You there?”

His breathe whistled as he pushed himself up. He wiped his face in vain, having life essence all over his hands and clothes.  
“Aiden? You alright?”, she answered from darkness. He heard mismatched, draggy sounds. Cait walked back straight, hands clinched into fists. Guys followed behind, walking one-sidedly. Brahmin moved nervously, cart going all over the place. Aiden sprinted to the animal, grabbing the reins. He heard wet splat underneath his feet.  
“We have to keep moving”  
Aiden grabbed the reins, holding the creature in place. He tried soothing, placing hand on its skinless, mouldy head: “There there, everything’s alright”. Cow tricks seemed to work here as well. Brahmin stopped wiggling and Aiden patted the side gently.  
Others moved around the cart. Aiden softly tugged the bridles, establishing the new order. He slowly worked the cart around and whatever had dropped from cart was picked up. Including driver that lied dead on the ground. He leaded the animal onto slow walk, establishing trust with nuclear-ruined cow wagon.


	8. Ruins exploration, part 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Arriving at the ruins of old capital, Aiden comes face to face with reality.

Eventually brahmin got on its normal speed. Even then a kid with tricycle could overtake it. Cait sat on back of cart accompanied by oil lamp as she went through goods, mumbling half-heard curses. Bruce and Pearce also sat on the cart, leaving Aiden all alone with his thoughts to the front.

He tried wiping off blood but fabric alone wasn’t enough. It had dried on the side of his face and down the neck. He gently tried his lips and nose. Nose was still intact, left cheek was sore to the touch and his mouth felt lazy. He heard sharp sound of something hitting the ground behind them. Aiden looked back, over the cart. Cait was leaned over the side of cart, something had just dropped.  
“What did you do?”  
“They shot up some goods”  
“When did that happen?”. Cait shrugged. Thinking back there wasn’t much to think. It was all smushed images. Like a wet canvas with painter that was eager with his work. Lines blur, colours passed the borders, shades mixed. Yells of battle mixed with Nora’s frozen face. Everything started getting eerie black hue.

Night’s back arched and heaved, slowly cracking and tearing away revealing the dawn. Aiden was tossed side to side by the uneven road. His eyes were fighting to stay open. Adrenaline had worn off and left him with nothing but silence.  
“You alright, sir? You look… fragmented”, nothing but Codsworth’s burning engine’s whistling.  
“I’m fine”, mouth ached and he had to put hand over it.  
“We must find doctor at once!”, robot declared.  
“There’d one in Diamond City”, Bruce mumbled silently. Aiden looked back. Among all the cargo lied three tired travellers. Cait had pulled jacket over her and was far gone. Pearce lied next to her, equally zoned out. Bruce was lighting cigarette, looking slightly more awake.  
“Could.. you take the reins?”, Aiden asked tiredly.  
Bruce looked up from smoke, grey eyes turning to him: “Sure”. Man put smoke in his mouth and moved in cart, sliding feet over the seat and sitting next to him. Aiden put reins in guy’s hands: “Thanks”, he went over the ledge, sliding down against harsh steel floor. His head selected lumpy mattress as pillow and he fell asleep instantly.

He felt quick kick at his side. Rude wakening and both of his sides were now sore. Amongst all the sleepiness he must have brushed against something. Aiden pulled himself in sitting, eyes scouting around. Eyes didn’t want to cooperate and took painful while to become focused.

“Where are we?”, dumb question, he knew where they were.  
“Whatever ruins these are”, Bruce groaned.  
“Kenmore Square”, Aiden said silently.  
World as he knew laid bare and ruin. He took deep breathes and laid forward. He saw ruined shopping centers, monuments, parks. Homes split open by impact. Rooms full of ash and rocks. On top of everything lied unnatural green glow and he noticed huge park was but big barren wasteland in between old houses.  
As they rolled over the street and next to split open houses Aiden faced new reaction. He put hand in front of his mouth and nose. The stench was putrid.  
Endless lines of skeletons littered the ground. What made everything sadder was abundance of items that had been just dropped and left. He saw skeletons of probably family, next to it broken suitcase. Long emptied and just full of weed now.  
He saw empty carriages, abandoned bicycles. Most of homes were boarded up. Some doors looked like they had never been opened. House next door was opposite, it was raided from all of its worth. His breath was erratic. Teeth pushed in his palm as brisk tears appeared in Aiden’s eyes.

He heard faint ruffle somewhere and suddenly something landed in the carriage, next to him. He couldn’t tell at first, being shocked and all. Severed hand had landed in the carriage, next to him. He wiggled his feet, kicking the fresh torso away. It wouldn’t roll, just sticked there. Cait lift herself up next to him. Suddenly all awake. She grabbed the arm and tossed it out of the cart.  
“I fucking hate this city”, she mumbled, as she laid back.


	9. Ruins exploration: part 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Exploration continues. Scenery changes. Alliances change.

“So wait. You’ve never been to city?”, Cait looked up at rooftops, smoking cigarette. Aiden knew it was midday and he should had been well past bed lying by now but every part of him hurted and this was as comfortable as it got. He had also accepted cigarette, coughing it like a champ.  
“No, I just. Haven’t been there”, Aiden tried coming up with scenario to cover up the whole microwave dinner story. He was very unsuccessful, not knowing jack shit about this time really made his life hard.  
“What, your parents sold you too?”  
Aiden frowned: “Excuse me?”  
“Local tradition. Very popular”, red head smiled: “Doesn’t fucking matter”, she flippantly pushed herself up, leaning on her legs as she enjoyed the nicotines.  
“Yeah. I was auctioned”  
Cait eyed him, he couldn’t tell those looks: “I would too”, she snickered. Cait’s face tightened again and she dumped cigarette butt: “Now, here’s the deal, Diamond city has shit prices”, she turned looking at him: “For what we’re sellin’”.  
“I’m not sure I follow”.  
“We’re well past Diamond City. Goodneighbour is where it’s all at”  
Codsworth hissled his words drily: “I’m guessing she’s talking about under the table sort of goods”. They exited the old neighbourhood. Where there once were long parks and football fields grew nothing but rubbish. To Aiden’s surprise the long bridge over neighorhood still held. Wood had long given up, showing huge gaps in between metal. Cart bumped sharply as they stepped on it. Man had to steer the cart careful to not slip.

“Your butler gets it”, Cait eyed the robot bit too curiously: “I’ve never been in market for General Atomics. But I imagine he’ll net a fair price as well”  
Aiden put hand on Codsworth’s metallic surface: “He’s not for sale”  
They hit big speedbump, Aiden fell back. He felt sharp grab on neck. Red headed girl was surprisingly quick with her fists: “Bargain’s done, vault boy!”, she kicked him out of cart. He landed on some wet plank but continued slipping down. His fingers grabbed on wood with rash horror but slipped and man fell through the gap. His wrist started furiously clicking as he landed in water. This couldn’t had been happening.

First there was panic and hopeless flailing. Next that shining moment when feet hit the ground beneath and he realized the lake wasn’t deep. He still had major problems. He pushed through waves, heavy caressing started letting down as he got out of water and onto the shore. He had no idea if the shivering was hypothermia or something else. He coughed any water out, refusing to drink any of it.  
Aiden pulled himself off the shores and onto the grass. Lines of old houses peared as far as eye could see. He turned around, trying to locate the cart. He dug up from ground, hand grabbing the bag. He still had that with him. Surprised he opened it, checking what he might had lost. Some tools were lost but to his delight screwdriver and pistol had made it. First aid kit had seen better days and then his fingers hit firm white bottle. His eyes widened in amazement and he rolled the bottle open, realizing it had survived the fall and pills were still dry. He swallowed a pill and hoped for the best.

Heart of town stood silent. Statue once proudly unveiled to honor the legacy of war heroes. It was now covered in what Aiden wanted to believe radioactive particles. It was all silent. Man stood infront of statue, kicking water off his boots and squeezing clothes. He sighed deeply and put hand on his forehead, slapping it loudly. Idiot. What sense does it make to trust anyone? He slid palm over his eyes, parting fingers to see around him.  
Sun gleamed between some leaves. Wait, did he see that right? Whatever. He walked slowly away from square. He found surprisingly still standing stool and sat on it, laying bag on his lap and starting to go through it.

Man checked time from pip boy out of habit. He then remembered what red headed raider had said, the name of two odd towns. According to girl they hadn’t been too far away. He looked down on his bag. He had some materials he could try bargaining for. There had to be money in this world, right? He rolled items back inside the pouch and closed it properly. He grabbed his rifle and put it back in his back. He headed down bomb-torn streets. Something about the scenery changed. Warm cottages grew taller and street corners were filled with old cars and tire walls. He got distant vibes of city when he saw first functional street light. Such delight for the tired eyes. He saw other caravan, almost convienced it was the one that bumped him off until he realized the cart wasn’t filled with cargo but corpses.  
Holding his breathe he walked onwards, following the trail where cow wagon had came from. He felt like he was being watched on every street corner. Maybe the water-soaked look was good because nobody gave him second look. He soon found himself standing in line, under big bright signs. One of them greeted visitors to Goodneighbour.


	10. Goodneighour

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Aiden arriving to whatever civilization there is left all beaten and tired.

“Keep your weapon holstered”, guard poked as Aiden walked through the gate.  
It was fascinating how even after bombs humanity had found a way to exist. Old red rock street were paved with footsteps and chatter. Most of old neighbourhood was still largely standing and something about these old brick houses made Aiden incredibly humble.

Was this how he pictured the life? Streets narrow and full of people. Man slinked past narrow gaps, as he joined the crowd. Where was he going? He had no clue. This world had no concept of time, health care or manners. Pushed were almost violent and man got shoved to the side street.  
Holding his arm he looked up to the sky. Day was already pushing towards the night. Light sleep from couple days back started taking its serious toll on man. He walked around the corner, meeting less people here. The chatter still echoed in distance when he walked onto sight that he immediately gave him bad feeling in guts.  
Guy was bloodying his fist on other dude’s face, yelling at his face. There was line of mattresses next to open fire. As luck would have it, he stepped bit wrong and suddenly the guy was looking at him.

“Yeah? The fuck you looking at?”, he could smell the breath too well and something extra too.  
“Nothing”, Aiden lifted his hands up over his chest. He was so tired and so not ready for another fight.  
“I ain’t got anythin’”, guy rushed to him and Aiden took quick steps back.  
“Jesus, Finn, lay it off”, someone mumbled. One of mattresses had been occupied by character: “This place turn into graveyard and you gotta find a new corner”.  
Man’s voice was raspy and low.  
“Oh come on, let me at least punch him. He has too pretty mug”  
“Look, whatever’s happening here I am not-”  
Second guy pulled out a knife.  
“-not for a trouble”, his words speeded up. Guy put the shiv in between other guy’s ribs. He groaned as hit landed deep. He pulled the knife out, pushing the guy off his feet.  
“Now, what’s a pretty flower like yourself doin’ here?”, guy in funny outfit put the knife away as if nothing had happened. For a stoner his walk sure carried good confident stride. Man put hand on the brick wall next to them, walking up bit too close. Up close he got better view of the face. It had something terrible happened. He had no nose, eyes were deep black holes and somehow under all that scarred, tormented skin tissue glimpsed life and emotions.  
“Uhm, I”, he was still busy acknowledging the corpse on the ground.  
Man followed his look: “Oh, don’t bother. Good boy Finn always bounces back”. Man dug out of his pocket inhaler. His eyes didn’t deceive, it was indeed an inhaler. Man took good sniff out of it, smelling for second something unpleasant and Aiden had to take a small step back.  
“Actually. I was looking for… a hotel?”, did those exist anymore?  
“Oh?”, man’s eyes widened: “Hotel Rexford has you covered. But I’m sure I’d fit you somewhere in my house, too”, Aiden might had been an old-timer but even he picked up several grey tones in that offer.  
“That’s very generous but I see I have this wife and-”  
“Aww, bummer”, man reached inside his pocket, pulling out another inhaler: “Hey. Tell Rex I sent you”, he put the item in his hand, closing Aiden’s fingers. The touch of dry skin was odd but warm.  
“Oh. Sweet”, Aiden looked at inhaler and then the guy in red jacket. He turned and waved him goodbyes, going back to the corner.

Hotel Rexford wasn’t exactly difficult to locate. He had vivid old memories bouncing up as he walked through the door. Old hotel was surprisingly still standing and he could recognize the old layout. He was greeted at the reception by man who had similiar skin condition as his mysterious benefactor outside.  
“I need a room”, Aiden burped, putting the inhaler on the counter.  
He saw glimmer of red in receptionist’s eyes and he rushed to the inhaler.  
“Oooh, Hancock sent you?”  
Aiden’s eyes looked up the roof and then back to the guy: “Yeah”  
Man went up the key line, pulling down highest number. He realized there wasn’t even need for signature. Little flip on key red 8.  
He walked up the stairs, marvelling the old world that was still largely present. Albeit very shot up and messy.

Aiden switched light on. To his surprise it worked and room was filled dimly light. It was quickly followed by buzzing and Aiden had to turn it off immediately. Darkness was more comforting anyways. He saw bed and instantly felt like someone kicked his knees. He slumbered on the bed, tumbling over himself and lied sideways on double bed. The mattress had rich aroma to it that filled the nostrils. Lights out.


	11. Strangers. Strangers everywhere.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Aiden wakes up next to last evening's new friend. As he shuffles around goodneighbor armed with pip boy and blue eyed enthusiasm he surprisingly runs into trouble and meets a stranger. Some Hancock, introduction of Nick Valentine. Wanted to write him having more badass intro from in-game.

Starting tune of the day was door slam. Body shook awake in horror. He lied there, still wearing same clothes from yesterday. He made the mistake of breathing and smelled himself. He was all smelly puddle, weeds and sweat. He could had slept more but that smell just forced him to wake up.

Still eyes closed man reached himself over the bed and took the damped jacket off as well as his shirt. He walked over to the bathroom that was at least decent. He even had a sink and a full mirror. Toilet was in need of couple sanitizations. Morning light pushed through tiny window, filling room with faint light and man inspected himself. He spotted something surprisingly old worldly at the bottom of a bathtub. A towel, soap and can of water. Ready and armed, he also took his pants off. They were all wet and clingy after being slept in. He threw clothes on floor without even thinking. He opened can and watered his fingers and starting wash. This was surprisingly difficult without running water. He couldn’t wash everything. He resolved to washing face and armpits. He rinsed toes that were still paining from yesterday.

Feeling somewhat freshened Aiden rolled towel over his shoulders. Room air stopped silent as did he when seeing the bed. Amidst half-dead wandering he hadn’t noticed the other side of bed that was occupied. By a figure. Figure rolled over and Aiden grabbed the towel to put it over his very naked body.

“Hey”, the voice was raspy and deep. Wait a minute, he recognized that coat and face. He couldn’t forget the later.  
“How… did you get in?”, his alleyway pal had somehow found way in his room.  
“Kinda my room”, ghoul mumbled, rising hand to cover his head. He noticed very distinct sweet aroma in the room and he didn’t need to guess long where that came from.  
“Uh-huh, so I was roomed in your… room and you have a key?”  
“These locks are pathetic”, hand rose, ghoul’s black eyes opened and looked at him. Room was full of rays: “Can I just… I really need to just lie down”.  
Aiden frowned: “Sure”, he waved at guy, backing back to bathroom: “I’ll be on my way anyways”.  
Ghoul didn’t respond, pressed his face on the pillow. Attempting to repel the sunlight. Aiden got dressed in his damp clothes. He checked his bag for possible thieveries. Everything was still intact. He pulled one half-open curtain close, blocking some sunlight entering the room. He put bag on his shoulder and exited the room.

He didn’t feel anything out of ordinary while walking. Aiden looked around more paranoid than usual. How could he not have heard the lock being tampered with and equally heavy body slinging next to him?

Aiden walked around market, checking stands and merchants. Stale room smell was changed to heat of midday and brahmin droppings. Cow animals brought back memories of home. Raw mould, smell of farm that could never be wash off, wet grass between toes. Did he still smell like farms, even after 200 years of cryo sleep?  
He came across stand selling clothes. He stopped at booth, bargaining to his best ability. At least buying set of new clothes wasn’t nearly as expensive as before war. He shuddered at memory of buying clothes for all and barber visit to booth.  
Aiden picked up dark grey shirt, light brown jacket and fair share of worn seen slacks but they had no holes and that counted for something. At next booth he did bit trading with his metal parts, getting some much needed water and caps.

He went on awhile to find a toilet or something he could sneak in for a change. People casually shuffled past him, way too friendly. Aiden pulled his messenger bag from his side to his hands and held to it close as he looked for a place.

He stopped at entrance to old metrostation. Exterior had been murdered by everything but the spot was still recognizable. Intrigued, he stepped to the door and pushed it open. He was greeted by suited.. undead man? What were they called? How awkward.

He also heard something that he hadn’t heard in such long time. First notes of piano hit raw and loud and yet so softly. He was pulled in by the music. He took stairs down, smoke got thicker and lights dimmed. How homey. He found toilet to occupy and put on new clothes. He ruffled up old ones and dumped them in garbage can. No way he was carrying that stink around.  
As toilet door slid close behind, Aiden didn’t feel too bad about the clothing. It fit alright.  
Smell of metro grease, burnt gears and old booze. The roof was thick with dark grey smoke, adding its own charm. He eyed around old platform area, now converted into a bar with rest of tunnel blocked off by barricades. What was here was surprisingly convincing looking bar table with stools and around the room some old dining table groups or random selection of chairs and couches. He felt eyes locking at him as he walked past tables. He tried pushing the pip boy into hiding behind his back, realizing now this might not be the friendly neighborhood.

He headed to table, stopping at the counter. Bowler hat-wearing mr handy slided infront of him, cleaning up mug like a stereotype. “And what would it be?”, the bot’s tone was harsh.  
“Uhm, do you sell beer?”, Aiden asked unsurely. He looked at persistent oil spill in the glass. Was he sure he wanted answer for that?  
“It’s a bar. Yes, we sell beer”  
“Then I’ll have one”, Aiden peeked over his shoulder. Characters around tables moved, still eyeing him underneath their hats. Aiden turned back and dug out the caps.  
“It’s funny being here, I.. remember when this used to be a metro”, he hitted up a chat.  
“A what now?”, the bot opened a tap with an excitement of a junior opening homework.  
“Metro. You’d get pretty much anywhere in Boston. Saved on gas and-”  
“Did I ask for a bloody talk?”, handy slammed the drink on table: “5 caps. No tap”  
Aiden looked down and gave the caps and took the drink. He turned back towards the bar. Just relax. Don’t make any sudden moves. Any other tips, old world brain? Don’t accept the candy. Good one, brain.

He eyed around the tables, avoiding any pro-longed contact. There was group of 3 men, then other table had woman and guy arguing. Third table at the end of line had one guy sitting, smoking and reading newspaper. CIgarette light gave unreal glow to his face. Aiden was about to sip his drink when chairs moved and group of three men got up. For his horror, one of them headed to him.  
“Sweet pip-boy”, man was middle height, average built and sported black hair with matching moustache.  
Aiden pushed his left to his coat pocket: “Uhm, thanks”.  
“Who did you have to kill for that?”  
Aiden gasped: “I, uh.. found it”, he grabbed the bar table in growing despair.  
Second guy joined in: “He has too good teeth to have beaten up anyone”.  
Aiden’s eyes went between two and now third who was also getting up. He looked at third and swift pain hit him in gut. Moustache man had punched him straight to gut in such speed a vault dweller like he had no chance of dodging. Aiden fell back to the table but the guy grabbed him by the shoulder while other guy got hold of his left hand, starting to open up the locks in his pip boy.  
“Hey, stop it”, he tried wringling, kicking the second guy with a might of a wet sponge.  
First guy punched him straigh to the face. Aiden fell down: “Help!”, it was like a street corner. Second guy ripped the pip boy off his hand when he suddenly got pushed forward and headed chin first to the metallic bar frame.  
Moustache man turned around, allowing them to see the intruder. Guy was dressed in trench coat and hat, with left hand clenched into a fist. The glow he had seen wasn’t the cigarette fire. It was his eyes.  
“Get lost, Valentine!”, first guy yelled: “Or you wanna go back in the hole?”  
Character sighed: “Stealing vault-dwellers is really low, you know that”, he grabbed the guy by throat. AIden held his breathe. His left hand wasn’t skin it was… all metal and bolts. All bare and frightening.  
The man looked down on him: “You alright?”, he asked.  
Aiden stared at him with widened terror: “Y-yeah”.  
He pushed the guy away, and he fell down. Stranger extended his metallic arm to him: “Come on”, he ordered. Unsurely he grabbed the hand and got hauled back to his feet with surprising strenght. Man walked to second guy, pressing the old leather shoe on his left wrist and put the heel down. Guy screamed and dropped the device. Stranger scooped it up and turned, throwing it to him. To Aiden’s surprise it landed in his lap.  
“Let’s blow it”, he motioned. Running, Aiden noticed with passing eye the third guy lying face down on the table. He had bottle shatters and blood around him.  
Aiden run, following the rugged coat tails outside.

They reached outside. Stranger looked around and then decided to go left: “The faster we get to Diamond City the better”, he yelled at him. Aiden ran after, still clinging on his pip boy. He heard gunshots in the distance.  
“THere’s more?”, Aiden yelled and they slinked behind a corner. Stranger pulled out old worldy pistol from his shoulder pocket. He looked at him. His eyes were unnaturally yellow, neverending glow and that stare… The stare was haunting.  
“Name’s Valentine. And you?”, he loaded his pistol, pressing against the cover. Aiden followed example, preparing his pistol that felt so winky now. He looked at Valentine unsurely: “Nice to meet you”.  
“Such manners will get you killed”, man shot first guy running blindly into the alley.  
Aiden gasped, reloading his gun. Something he still kept forgetting to do.  
He looked to the right, moving that side as gunfire could be heard from that side as well. They peeked out, getting more bullets and exchange ensured. Mr Valentine rushed out of cover, aiming with unnatural precision. Just how much metal was in that man? Aiden had no time to ponder that as he heard crumbling and doors opening. He looked up to the old balconies. He bit his lip and aimed up, listening. The stairs to upstairs were within arm’s reach.  
Valentine kept the company plenty busy on the front so he decided to try to flush the flanker. He reached for the stairs and moved up. The metal mad unexpected creak and the steps above his head got heavier. He curled down just in time avoiding the bullet and he fired few back hanging onto the railing.  
Aiden got up, moving up the stairs. The trashed remains of apartment didn’t have much hiding room and bullet exchange become a thing again. Old brick dust flew by as he hid behind a small cover. Terribly outmatched, he was. Also armored.  
He heard the steps moving back as the floor creaking furthered. Adrenaline pulsated through him. He felt bleeding somewhere but couldn’t place it right now. He ambushed inside the room full of rocks and natural resources. Nature was taking over this part of town with big tree already pushing through the old fireplace.  
He suddenly stopped. Goon had him in his sights, gun pointed right at his chest.  
“It’d be shame if something happened to y-”, a sharp hail of bullets followed. Guy froze in position, stepping back. The stumbled and fell through broken window hole.  
Aiden shook in spot, curling his hand around his chest. He pressed his vital organs, not bleeding in there. It wasn’t until he got the right arm when he felt a sting.  
He cried a little, looking at the torn fabric on his jacket and shirt. The bullet hadn’t hit deep, luckly.

There was heavy steps on the stairs. The gunfire had ended but Aiden had his pistol pointed up from his hip at the top of stairs. A familiar hat poked out. Mr Valentine stepped on the balcony. He was still clinging onto his sharpshooter.  
“You hurt?”, he stepped to him, putting the gun away. Aiden breathed sharp when man leaned next to him. his glowing amber eyes stared right at him as he examined his wounded arm: “Nothing a doctor can’t fix. I know a good one in Diamond city”, he got up, helping Aiden up again. Man eyed him up and down: “You’d get armor”.  
They walked down the stairs and Valentine turned one body over, undoing the leg and wrist bindings and gave them to him.  
Aiden accepted them and sat down, holstering the leathers in place. He looked at his mysterious saviour who dug out cigarette pack and pulled one smoke out, lighting it with a fliplighter. The fire lit up his character, revealing beaten face that was eerily similiar to synths he had ran across in wasteland. Unlike those, this one was wearing clothing and had half of his face missing. The eyes were really haunting.

“What… what are you?”, he had to ask.  
Valentine turned his face: “I’m sure you’ve seen a synth before”. The features molded into expressions, lines at his cheeks lived. Like humans.  
“Sure”, Aiden answered, as his eyes studied man’s features: “But… they didn’t have face. Like, this one”, he made odd motions to his noggin: “Or clothing”.  
“Gotta wear something when part of civilization”. Supposedly so.  
Aiden buckled up the wrist protection: “I’m not sure what here counts as civilization”, he got up from stairs. He hanged on the railing for support, still eyeing the stranger.  
“I know, that look”, Valentine sighed, inhailing last smoke of cigarette: “I’m not going to snuff the life out of you. It’s natural to expect that. You seem lost. Terribly.”  
Aiden nodded silently: “Yeah”, he couldn’t really deny.  
“Shall we go then?”, Valentine asked.  
Aiden let go of railing, stepping onwards: “Yes”.  
The torn jacket turned and Aiden followed the ripped coat tails.  
“Uhm, sir?”  
Man didn’t stop, threw the cigarette away into a rubble: “Yeah?”  
“Name’s Aiden. I forgot to say”  
“It happens”, man waved his hand. They walked through rumbling streets and little spots of grass and trees until they reached the first check point to Diamond city.


	12. Black Market

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chase for Codsworth

Walls seemed to go on forever. Stretched around old shacks stacked on top of one another. As his eyes climbed the floors the buildings got more intact and elaborate. They had windows, drapes, balconies, tables and chairs. Light barely filtered past levels and as his eyes wandered down he realized most of light came from buzzing light bulbs.

“I miss the shop windows”, Aiden sat in chair, lying in it like a dead. Dead tired from all the running: “Something about unmoving windows, stale lights”, he had cigarette between fingers. A gift from his mysterious saviour.

“There was dreams and ideas at display”, he chatted to cover the tiredness.  
Stranger named Nick Valentine sat at garden chair. Armrests red fabric had washed and ripped off. Metallic hand lied over rusted metal bolt. Man had smoke between his animated lips that treated the sinful good like it was the best thing in the world.

“They were so clever at hiding those price tags”.  
Aiden was surprised the receive response from the construct. He still couldn’t pry his eyes off the eyes. Amber eyes flickered like monitor light. Light was faint, like monitor in sleep mode. He realized he had been talking. A lot.Talking to cover his uncertainty.

What was it he was looking at? Undeniable machine with lots of subtle movements and hands so nimble he was fooled by the illusion. Lips pressed against the cigarette and locking them in for new inhale. Uncanny valley feels ran through him.

“I’m sorry”, he had to apologize. His chest hurt on motion and he ran left hand across the side of chest where thug had kicked him.  
“For what?”, synth titled his head.  
“The talk. Too much of it”, Aiden looked at smoke and brought it on his lips.  
“It’s alright”, synth snapped out of endless stare: “I listen. A lot”. That wasn’t comforting.  
Aiden eyed machine thoroughly. Long gone were days of simple wiring and clear lines of wires. He guessed there was wires still involved but it was all veiled under showroom mannequin skin.  
“Why, do you record me or something?”, he had to ask.  
Synth’s body shifted to more relaxed position in chair: “Once in awhile, yes”, a smirk.  
Aiden frowned, inhaling the smoke: “So 200 years from now someone finds some interesting tapes”  
“Why 200 years?”  
“Just a hunch”

“Aiden”  
Synth’s voice wake him from trance. His attention turned to the machine:  
“Look, I don’t mean to be nosy. But you’re not from around here, are you?”  
Aiden’s tired eyes flickered down. He moved smoke from one hand to another. He had forgotten how manieth cigarette he was sucking.  
“So the outfit isn’t just for a show?”  
“No. I’m a detective by trade”  
“So you’ve red me like a book”, Aiden flickered the cigarette on ashtray, turning to face the detective bot on his chair: “Come on then, investigate me”  
“Alright, calm down”, robot’s hand slammed the garden table firmly. Aiden jumped a bit, hands rising to shield himself whatever was coming. Nothing was coming. Instead the robot spoke.  
“You’re clearly upset about something. Judging by your looks you’re not a settler, nor a trader and definitely not uptowner”  
“You-you’re right about that”, Aiden slowly let his guard down.  
“Are you from vault?”, synth’s words snapped suddenly. Like an idea had just crossed his head. Or hard drive. Whatever it might be.  
“Sort of”, Aiden looked down: “But, what are you?”, eyes lifted carefully. He comes off so blunt.  
“I’m a synth”  
“Is that… a robot?”  
“Synthetic man. A bit more advanced from those piles of metal”, did he just get sassed by a robot?

“You really are from vault”, synthetic skin bended into convincing grin.  
“I had butler robot. He was very roundy and metallic. Your casing is”, Aiden gestured vaguely with tips of his fingers: “Strange. And what happened to your face?”  
Synth turned his head slightly, flexing his head from one side to another. Sunlight pierced through open holes at cheeks, revealing clear sight through. Tightly wrapped wires and metallic frame peeked through. Did he just imagine seeing part of jawline too?  
“You wouldn’t believe how well it works for the ladies”  
Aiden flabbergasted, too fixed on inspecting the detective’s inner workings: “A what now?”  
“I’m joking. You mentioned Mr Handy?”  
“Yeah, until he got stolen”  
Synth’s eyes frowned a bit: “Stolen?”  
Aiden growled. He was really low on options and friends right now: “I was travelling with a caravan. From south. Me, my handy and three escorts. They kicked me out of cart somewhere around outskirts of this city”  
“There’s black market not too far away from here”, synth spoke firmly: “Including electronic and robot sellsmen. Chances are your butler is there”, synth got up from chair, tossing the cigarette: “Ready to go?”

Aiden frowned: “I- do I owe you?”  
Synth turned: “Owe you?”  
“You said you’re detective and sleuthing mustn’t be cheap”, Aiden got up from chair.  
Synth took a look at him from head to bottom, eyes returning: “We’re not discussing money”.  
Aiden scratched his head as they headed to the gates.

\--

City ruins got considerable more run-down as they exited the check points. He saw lights glimmering behind some windows. Other windows were barred in and looked like they had stayed that way.  
“So what happened to your face?”, Aiden had to insist as they followed trail of brahmins and carts.  
“I wrestled a yao guai”, sleuth walked without care over some rubble. Aiden wasn’t so sure and chose to find alternative path jumping over some car wrecks.  
“A what?”, he almost slipped on landing, barely making it.  
“Black market might not be best place for wild synth”, Nick turned so sharply Aiden bumped onto man: “So let’s keep low profile. Anything distinct about your Mr Handy?”  
Aiden walked back a step: “I’ve fixed him a lot. Carefully. He’s not very rusty”  
“Doesn’t help us much”  
“His name is Codsworth”  
Synth nodded: “A little hint is better than nothing”

They headed through makeshift gates. They passed by lines of carts, some even had tables and little sale booths. Everything imaginable was at sale. He might had been baptized in radioactive water but his head was still very much set in era before the bombs. He didn’t understand most of sale items’ purpose. It was just trash. His eyes watered from the smell. He wanted to clog up his nostrils.  
Sharply Nick stopped him by shoulder: “Does your Mr Handy still function?”  
Aiden frowned, looking where man was looking. He could had recognized that butler from anywhere. As well as that girl.

Rage was white.  
“Cait!”, he yelled surprisingly loud, scaring people around them.  
Red head turned, looking stunned: “Aiden. Bloody hell”.  
Aiden walked furiously past carefully laid sale tables, as he worked his way towards the girl. Girl took a quick sprint and Aiden bolted right after. He heard Nick’s yell after but he was well ahead that.  
The dodged through narrow corridors. They knocked over lord knows what and angry cries echoed as two left the shopping area. Feet carried them over old park. Old leisure spot was but dead logs and silent playground. Except two pairs of foots and endless cursing!

“I counted on rainwater drowning you, vault dweller”, Cait cursed while running.  
“I was frozen!”  
“That doesn’t make any bloody sense!”  
They reached lines of old family houses. First line of houses were ripped open by impacts, second like was half there. Cait jumped through open wall and Aiden followed. They entered long abandoned house.  
“Stop and I’ll bloody explain”, Aiden yelled, breath running wild. His body was full on lactic acid.

“Oh make me”, voice trailed behind a wall. Aiden knocked the wall. Wood. He rushed up the stairs. Upstairs room was one long open skyline. He reached the end of floor. Planks had been carefully placed, connecting two houses together. He saw Cait sneaking on the ground. Aiden gasped at pained legs. It was like working all over again.  
He put feet on plank, one in front of another. He saw the height. The hardness of ground and felt nothing in particular. He remained steady and crossed the plank to next house. He leaped downstairs fast. He had to stop after last step. He grasped his stomach. Effects of icile status still lingered on.

“Gosh, it’s been so long since I’ve ran like this”, voice greeted him. Cait was sitting at one of last furnitures of the house. Deep scarlet lounge chair. She was panting heavily, sweat drops spotting her forehead.  
“I feel sick”, Aiden clinched on his stomach. He grabbed the staircase railing and slid down, sitting on the lowest step. Both sat there quietly.  
“I expected you to run more”  
Cait spited: “Fuck no”  
“So why did you steal my robot?”  
Cait took her sweet time answering: “Honey, I’m a raider”  
He was too tired to insist better answer.  
Day turned to evening and two dorks fell asleep on their respective positions. Aiden woke up, startled by a noise. A familiar hissing of kettle woke him up.  
“Mister Aiden”.


	13. The Line

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bathtub. Much needed rest and head check with detective.

Trip back to Diamond City couldn’t had taken any longer.

“Is there off switch in that thing?”  
“None for you, thug!”  
“I’m still getting paid, right boss?”

Limping along with beaten, tired legs was one thing. Having air filled with blabber that kept going and going was another.

“Dad, are you alright? You’re very pale and your eyes are most teabaggish”  
“Yeah, sure”. And a sharp punch.  
“Dad, talk to me. I’ve been so lonely with these thugs!”

Nothing but talking. Serving no purpose but to irritate man’s brain well past the breaking point.  
Aiden turned: “SHUT UP”, he yelled. For such frail character the sound sure was loud.  
Amazingly, everyone went quiet.  
“I’m gonna go find a bed and sleep in it”, he hissed, turning. He turned after one step, motioning: “Codsworth”.

Mr Handy followed man as he dragged himself over old boulder road beaten tired. He was tailed by the synthetic detective who stepped through gates to Diamond City as well.

“If I hear a single beep”, Aiden’s hand extended from the bottom of lumpy mattress.  
“No word, sir”, Codsworth sighed: “Please rest now”.

\--

Aiden rolled in mattress. He was so tired his limbs had fell limp. He hear slow whissing in distance but chose to keep his eyes closed. He slowly shifted his body and fell back to the slow slumber.

“Good day, sir”  
Codsworth rolled around room. He poured water from can to a glass and placed it next to mattress. Aiden groaned. Mouth tasting like death. He grabbed the glass and drank.  
“I prepared bath to the best of my abilities, sir”  
Aiden frowned: “A bath? Is there even enough water...”  
“I’ve had a lot of time, sir. And I put the time to good use”, handy placed clean white towel on his feet: “I advise taking the bath now, sir. While the water is still warm”.

Aiden lied his head against old porcelain. Small bathroom was covered in old rose wallpapers. Stains of time splattered the pattern, like odd wheat buds growing amongst the faint roses. Pip boy laid on chair next to bathtub. As well as his pistol. You never knew.

Codsworth hadn’t been idling the slightest. This bath had seen its fair use and somehow the magnificent Mr Handy had managed to scrub every dirt, stain and even cracks into hiding. Water was just right. He had even managed to salvage some soap. Aiden wiggled his toes, moving water between. He was so spoiled. He had forgotten how to cook long time ago. Why bother remembering when you own a butler robot that does all home chores for you? Eyes closed Aiden could swore he was still living at old times.

“You are a gift”, Aiden smiled eyes closed.  
“Anytime, sir. Is everything alright?”  
“Yes. Thank you so much”  
“I’ll be within reach if you need me”, a soft whistling exited the room.

Somewhere under the floor panels life resumed. The sounds were still there. Man started drifting away. Breathe grew softer. Sounds waxed mute, words broke into syllables. His own breathe droned through ears. Comforting little sounds. It was just characters now. Humming silence. Tiny snores.

“Dad”  
Words emerged smooth. Like something reaching under waves, grabbing, pulling softly.  
“Mister Valentine’s looking for you”  
Aiden’s eyes unfolded. He was bent leaning to the left side of tub. Too comfortable to shift.  
“What does he want?”, Aiden regretted his tone immediately. Out of all people synthetic detective had proved most helpful in a short period.  
“He seems quite fond of you, sir”  
“Let him in then”, Aiden accepted his fate. He was to receive guest while in bath.

Aiden leaned back, centering himself in already stale water. Worn old rug shuffled as guest crossed the room: “Wonder how many historic leaders did their businesses while taking a bath?”  
“Is this a bad time?”, synth spoke behind a bit of wall.  
Aiden’s fingers twitched along the edge of bathtub: “Do you have cigarette?”

Synthetic detective emerged at door. Man turned quickly: “Need to get dressed?”  
Aiden grabbed the side of bathtub: “Just come here and hand me a goddamn fag”. His face immediately softened in regret. Synth walked to the bathroom, digging out the tobacco pack. Aiden reached arm over porcelain wall to grab cigarette from pack and stuffed it between his lips. Nick took soft step towards him with lighter. Smoke lit and Aiden took good long inhale, breathing up.

“Mind if I move these”  
Oh yeah, his belongings. Aiden waved in approval. Maybe sitting down was indeed better than have man standing there. Aiden felt blush scorching his cheek bones.  
Man took smoke off between his lips. He spoke to man with a profile: “I’ve been rude to you. I’m very sorry”  
Detective rolled out cigarette as well: “If I was into business, I’d say you’ve been nothing but trouble”, man leaned over with his smoke: “May I?”  
Aiden frowned. He extended smoking hand to man and watched as he lit his smoke from the ashes. Embers lit. Just like his eyes. Aiden had to crank his eyes off.  
“Speaking of business. I hope you accept part payments”  
Synth sighed: “I said if”, he inhaled from smoke, breathing out soft trail. Part of it escaped out through the neck hole in a fancy effect: “We aren’t discussing money”  
“But… I’ve put you through trouble”  
“Not any more than usual”  
Aiden lifted hands up from waters, putting them over the tub railing. He tucked wet hair back, out of sight. He seriously needed a barber.  
“So you’re saying we’re cool?”  
“Yes”  
He had to let that idea sink in.  
“Not what you expected?”  
Aiden sighed. The smoke, the warm bath, exhaustion. He was bound to run his mouth more than usual: “I come from time when debts were made to be paid. In cash. Sometimes favors. Mostly money”  
Synth leaned forward on chair. His fingertips met a top of his legs: “You’re from vault, right?”  
“I was assigned to vault. The day… It happened we were put through some disinfection”, Aiden happened to look at synth’s direction. His eyes barely blinked: “But the tubes instead froze us”  
“So vault tec has perfected code for eternal life”  
Aiden rolled his head: “I was only survivor”, the faces returned vibrant.  
“Oh”, synth frowned: “Were you alone?”  
He had to gasp: “I had a wife. And son”  
“I’m sorry”, something seemed to change in synth’s posture.  
Aiden bit his lip, fingers grasping to the cigarette. Amidst all the somnolent clouds, a thought grasped painful. He put smoke back in his mouth.  
“I don’t understand anything anymore”  
“I remember that feeling”, synth spoke soft. Turning face Aiden realized he had tears in his corners.  
“It takes its time. But if you let it… this world, you will find place in it”. Something within moved, curious. The clouds were thick and unforgiving but he felt the warmness taking a nest. Long time strangled optimism stirring.  
Aiden wiped eye corner with thumb: “It might take awhile”.  
“It’s fine”, synth smiled softly. Dented face in all of its eeriness was able to put up a smile. A warming one, at that.

“Can I ask something?”, synth asked.  
“If it’s about money, no I wasn’t particularly rich even before war. Just workholic-”  
Synth bursted into laughter, releasing some tensions within the room: “No, it’s not about money. If it had I’d had pushed you out of cart”  
Aiden’s face dropped. He stared at synth with dimmed smoke at hand. Surprisingly, the synth didn’t seem to mind that: “Too soon?”  
Aiden tilted head, trying to look menacing. From the face of freckled ginger man with messy hair and stubbled face it didn’t work too well: “Go on”, Aiden sigh and smiled. How could he not? Comedy cured many things.  
“What did you used to do before war?”, synth’s tone was different. Words were laid careful, like pieces of puzzle. Small and frail, afraid to dent the corners.  
“I was an electrician”, Aiden dropped cigarette in ashtray at ground: “I used to live in city and work as errand boy. Before meeting Nora”, his hand moved along the porcelain gently: “Then I moved out of city, settled in neighborhood and got employed in a factory”.  
“Fascinating. I imagine you would feel very comfortable doing electric work now”  
“Doubtful. Technology develops, methods upgrade-”  
“No, they didn’t. They’ve gone backwards”  
Aiden’s eyes lit up a little. The idea grabbed him. Something he could understand well?

\--

“God, these lights bother me to all hell”  
Young man’s face followed a line of cables as it passed over walkway. He dropped off path to follow the line to the lamppost it was connected to. Nick followed him after.  
“Wow, those installations are a nightmare”, Aiden turned around, expressing concerns to his detective friend: “There’s no surge protector to speak of, that box is in horrible shape and probably lets all moist inside”.  
He turned, walking to the pole. Aiden checked his bag, digging out screwdriver. Aiden grabbed the pole and started pushing up against it. His shoes had surprisingly good grip. Rubber would keep him shock safe.  
“What are you doing?”, Nick spoke underneath him.  
“I have to check something”, Aiden wrapped legs around the wood. He loosened up the bolts. Already half-open box opened and it was just as he had feared.  
“Christ, if I ever want to be set on fire”, he mumbled with screwdriver between his teeth.  
“If you get zapped now”, synth spoke underneath him.  
Aiden touched the box, pushing it back in order and tightened the screw. The closed the lid and secured it close too.  
He slid down lamppost softly, dropping on his feet.  
“You were right”, Aiden stepped in front of synth. Nick tilted his head, staring.  
“Don’t tell me you like climbing every tall thing you see”  
Small smile lit up in Aiden’s face. He touched the tip of screwdriver and softly poked synth’s jacket collar with it: “I’m very good at it. Jealous?”, how could he resist: “Being afraid would be only hinderance”.  
Synth’s posture didn’t change. He stood there, hands in his jacket pockets: “Uh-huh”.  
“So… Who do I talk to about electricity safety?”


	14. Shedding skin

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Buckle up. There's gonna be some character background in this. I got sad while writing this chapter.

“If you could be so dear and keep your chin up”, man’s chin and cheeks and neck was covered in white puffy paste. Messy gingery stubs along the neckline were on their way to be damaged. Aiden watched the razor blade with sense of worry. After all he had been through recently, he wasn’t happy about seeing sharp objects up against his neck. His eyes turned from barber to his right. Codsworth hovered in spot, eyes set to him.  
“I’ll be here, sir”. He would spring in if anything happened.

Razor moved with utmost precision against Aiden’s cheeks. Racing along the sharp cheekbones to meet the chin. Tiny nob, it was.  
“About time to be rid of this. Uglies you!”, barber complimented as sharp blade ran along further down the neck.  
“I couldn’t agree more”, Codsworth smiled with words.  
Aiden didn’t dare to move a muscle.  
His eyes turned, looking at market. Place was still quiet. Mostly traders unloading their carts and merchants putting their hands on everything that wasn’t bolted down.

Blade moved swift, without care, eradicating itchy fur off his chin. Barber wiped his chin clean.  
“Can you do my hair, too?”, Aiden asked as he looked to his reflection.  
“That will be 20, then”  
Ginger digged out more caps, handing them to the barter. Man changed to scissors, combing through the mess: “And what do you want done with this?”  
“Shorten it”, Aiden had to blow bit of hair that had landed on his nose.  
“Wonderful, can I recommend short back and bit extra hair on top?”  
“Sure”, Aiden wasn’t able to picture that. He put all in the hands of diamond city’s barber.

Scissors snapped above left ear. Eyelashes fluttered as sharp edge crossed over eyebrows. Day was dawning behind eye curtains. Scissors moved over to the right and man opened his eyes again. Black cracks covered the edges of mirror and there was a fine break of reflection running in the left. Barber was sliding up chunks of his back hair, cutting it roughly short. Aiden could feel gentle breeze of air on his back. Refreshing.

“My, sir. You’re already looking much younger!”, Codsworth rolled curiously in front of him: “Young and a new world to explore. So exciting!”  
Aiden had no clue how to respond to that. He chose to smile.  
Small buzzing machine went on and started running along his back furs, eradicating any last long hairs he had back there. Tiny metal moved along his skin. As he tilted his head he realized just how much more lighter the hair now felt.  
His eyes happened to cross to the market. His eyes noticed familiar figure walking past morning strollers. Nick walked up to a booth on the right, going right up for a chat with the merchant.

“And here we go”  
Lashes fluttered when bit of hair fell off in front of his eyes. He had to snicker at amount of hair on the floor. Barber held up mirror behind him. Aiden lift his hand to touch the back of his head. It was so short. He barely got a grip of hairs. Running up the length stayed same until the top where he had bit longer tuff of hair racing over forehead. He saw bit of curl on the top corner of his eye. He also noticed Nick had exited the store. Synth had spotted him at barber chair and Aiden had to look away quickly.  
“Did you know your hair is naturally curly?”  
Aiden had to roll his head: “No, not realized it before”  
Barber wiped hairs off his shoulders before letting him go. 

Aiden stepped down the stairs, hand ruffling the back of his head.  
“That will take a bit to get used to”, Codsworth’s ball eye tilted, focusing on the new looks.  
Aiden’s hair ran along the tip of hair, pulling the hair softly. Gingery red glimmered against morning rays. He let go of hair tuff, meeting Nick peering at him. He just stood there, very absent-looking. As if he could hear the gears moving inside his head.  
“Where beauty cannot keep her lustrous eyes”, Nick spoke softly: “Or new Love pine at them beyond to-morrow”.  
It took Aiden good moment to grasp what Nick had just said. He recognized the author by heart and reaching the information had been a herculean task. Or was it just that delivery?  
“Did… did you just quote John Keats?”  
Smile on Nick’s lips was devious kind. Aiden felt slight burn, having now more verses of that poem playing at the back of his head. For some reason he heard them in Mister Valentine’s voice.  
“I’d use a walk”, Aiden nudged Codsworth.

Streets were lined with metallic huts. Over head he heard talking and saw a glimmer of sun. Upper town was very literal. Something ruffled on the roofs. Metal plates had been stacked over walkway. Dim lights lit up the hallway.  
“You seem upset, sir”, Codsworth joined him.  
“It’s nothing. Just had to get some air”  
“It’s a beautiful poem for an unusual place”  
“I’m fine”, It was something. Right now he didn’t want his robotic butler prying into his businesses. More than usual.

“I’ve been meaning to ask for sometime now. Are we… planning to bury Nora anytime soon?”  
Aiden stopped, turning. From one extreme to another. Idea slapped him in the cheek. Like it had just heard all his impurities regarding other than his wife. Person he was still technically married to.  
“I hadn’t even thought of that”, Aiden answered small. Small bang moved to the left and suddenly, between metal plates, dropped down a cat. Rusted stripes, lean, small. Aiden leaned down, immediately intrigued by the cat.  
“Hey”, he called to cat who eyed him scaredly. It pushed lower, ears down, tail hiding between legs. This one wasn’t interested of a chat.  
Aiden got back up, eyes still at cat that turned and slinked away behind a corner. Slinking from the sight. Like his wife. Oh, the burial.  
“Do you think they still do burials in this world?”, two continued walking. Underneath metal hallway was little widened space with tables and chairs. More food places. He also saw advertisement for doctor services.

Codsworth whistled next to ginger, eyeing the small hall equally curious: “Well. The dead have to go somewhere. Can’t just dump them in the river”  
Aiden pushed hands in pockets: “Judging the smell of that one lake, I wouldn’t be surprised”.  
“That would be most unorthodox, wouldn’t it?”, if Codsworth had a nose, it would be so wrinkled right now.  
“Oh Codsie, this world… It doesn’t respect our ideas. Our faiths”  
“Don’t say that”  
“I’m just saying. It doesn’t care about us”, Aiden’s shoulders dropped. They reached the end of hallway, emerging to what looked like farming grounds. Ground was smelly mess and Aiden had to pinch his nose again. They balanced on planks that were about only dry ground this part of town. He couldn’t possibly see them getting lost in architecture that was based on round shape and inhabited one level.  
“You can’t just let this all get to you, sir”, Codsworth was strict: “They might be savages but we’re not”.  
Aiden turned head to Codsie: “Nobody’s getting to me. I’m merely adjusting”.

“I still hate the sound of that, dad. Just what Nora-”  
Rubber band snapped in his head: “Don’t bring her into this”, feeling shook him an autumn-kissed bloom: “She’s safe now. I couldn’t protect her from that but- she’s safe now”.  
“I don’t think I quite follow”  
Aiden trekked down the ladder, wanting to get away from too many curious ears. They rushed off from fields and back to the maze of low income housing.  
“Our child, he was… he wasn’t planned”, Aiden ran finger along metal wall. Searching for some kind of solitude. Codsworth reached for him: “Aiden?”  
“Shaun was an accident. This once we”, he spoke in scattered sentences, struggling with meanings: “Suddenly this… Fearless, amazing woman was a shaking mess”, Aiden wiped hair behind his ear, trying to hold off tears.  
“She wasn’t afraid. Except one thing. Her parents would had been so… Words fail me how intimidating they were”, he pushed himself against the wall, tear rolling long nose bridge: “She didn’t need protecting. But suddenly she did. Because of me”  
“Sir, of all the times and places… why do you tell this now?”  
“Because I was sure everything was gonna be alright”, he turned back against the wall: “Pregnancy went fine, I had job… I married a friend”, he sniffed, tear dropping down the nose tip.  
“Sir… Aiden, I”, butler struggled with words. The voicebox didn’t allow disturbance but there was a clear pause.  
Aiden stood silently against the wall, hugging himself. Just about holding together. He looked around, not noticing anyone staring. As he pushed himself off from wall and started walking away, he noticed slight glow of amber on the other hallway. What kind of luck was this?  
They started slow trek back to the motel. Codsworth hovered behind. Silently.


	15. Helping hand

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Fight scene writing. Hurts.

Man’s cheek pushed against the pillow.  
Among the darkness he heard faint bleeps, followed by tea kettle-like whistling. Codsworth was moving things in his usual careful style. Aiden stayed unmoving, silent. The rest was just half-way done. He had no reasons to move in a while.   
Codsworth dropped stuff in his bag. Tools, water, guns, rope, bandages. He had got word of few settlements nearby without any power in them. It was something that people had been meaning to get around to do but for some reason only now someone was getting around to it.

“I have some ammo in drawer. Put those in too”  
Mr Handy let out surprised boof: “Sir! You mustn’t scare like that”  
“Just… put the bullets in bag. And a stimpak. I’ll crash few more moments”, he turned over, burying face inside a pillow.

Couple hours later, he was on the road. Diamond city behind him.  
“How’s the new core?”  
“I hadn’t realized it but… I think I was underperforming before”  
Aiden had to frown: “Ridiculous”  
“So many more functions I’m able to do”.  
He had his doubts. Difficult to check as he had lost the manual ages ago.

The awaiting settlement surprised man. On top of ruins of old house settlers had set up new houses. They had lines of healthy-looking crops and running water. All they were missing was electricity. Aiden had many more things he could had named missing but he decided to remain silent. He set himself up a workshop and got to work.

Nick was right. It was like an old glove. Somehow the technology had gotten simple due material shortage. Codsworth provided light as Aiden got onto building the wiring, connecting the dots and installing them together. Faint blue puff of smoke rose as man soldered together metal.

“How are you feeling today, Codsworth?”, Aiden broke the silence, as he put the flaming hot stick down for a moment, allowing metal to cool.  
“Me? I’m fine- just fine, sir”  
“Surely?”  
“Yes. I have a new core now, after all”  
Aiden breathed behind closed lips, staring at metal work. Did Codsworth even experience anxiety? Fear he obviously did but anxiety. That lingering feeling. Did it grab his core like it grabbed his throat at nights?  
Loud bang echoed through the air shattering the solitude. Ready and armed villagers made now more sense. Group of raiders had decided to show up.  
“Oh blimey”, Codsworth groaned. Aiden quickly pushed his works aside and grabbed his pistol.

Raiding settlement so close to city didn’t sound like exactly cool plan. Until Aiden realized the size of the herd. Bullets flew by the buildings as Aiden dodged his way to the cover. It was at the cover he realized there was second group attacking from other side.  
He was quickly targeted by fiend with buzzing blunt weapon. Aiden attempted shooting the person, missing him sorely. He got slammed against the wall and pinned against the metal. His spine screamed but nothing felt loose. He resolved to kicking the fiend with what little he had, causing minor irritation. Final kick hit the meat between protective pads and the grip was lost. Aiden groaned as his back hurt and he rushed towards his workbench, containing his bag. He reached for the grip, grabbing it before he was kicked again. He flipped, bag flying open in his grasp. Miscellaneous metal junk and tools bursted out.

His slim fingers grabbed to first object, throwing cut piece of metal towards his attacker. Metal slammed against face, cutting the rugged nose skin. Aiden reached onto next object. Long and sturdy. Grabbing onto screwdriver he got back up. As feet kicked straight back of his head twinged.  
“Sir!”, he heard Codsworth calling him. His vision threw off and he was easily kicked back to the ground and he had to groan. Back hurt got worse. As his lips opened he tasted blood and vile. He shoved the screwdriver on his attacker, hitting them on the cheek. Attacked groaned, grabbing onto his neck again. Aiden punched with screwdriver again, this time on the side. He heard faint burst and crack. His attacker’s fingers loosened and they turned to their side, screaming on top of their lungs.

Aiden shivered, spitting blood from his lips. He managed to gather force and kicked the wounded off his feet. They plummeted to the ground. His head forced downwards, pain in the back made him whimpy. He saw unclearly as someone approached but was quickly dispatched by sharp sound of buzzsaw.  
“This saw is really cutting it, eh. Sir are you alright?”, voices faded.


	16. Wake

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Waking up in bandages. Also, oh my god, actual character closeness development

Sharp slam echoed close. He shook awake. First breath, spiking pain on the left.  
Vision was blurry, he saw movement but couldn’t for the life of him make out the details.  
“He’s awaken”.  
He couldn’t see the face. Just light brown and soft voice.  
“Hang in there”, voice affirmed. Mind cut off.

In deep slumber something stirred beneath. Leaning on the boat, fingers danced softly on the surface. Tap of finger sent shivers, breaking the calm, wrinkling the mind.

His eyes opened from crude sleep. Man couldn’t tell where he was. All he heard was his own panic breath. He saw line of beds. Empty red wall staring in front of him. How comforting.

“Morning”, voice mumbled.  
Aiden turned head slowly, feeling striking pain as the pressure shifted on his side.  
“Where am I?”, hand rushed to cover his left side. It was tightly covered in bandages. He gasped, trying to move his toes. Both feet wiggled, the relief struck through him. He felt tightness around his head too. Covering some of his sight.  
“Diamond city”, he spotted the talker as he lift his chin. Older woman went through beds, ripping off old sheets and tossing them in pile. One of them was drenched in blood.  
“You’ve been sleeping past 2 days”, as she looked at him he realized the nurse was a ghoul.  
“May… I ask your name?”  
Nurse paused but then let in: “Mira”  
Aiden nodded to the lady: “Did… Anyone else make it?”, he softly pushed himself up the bed, to the sitting position.  
“Careful, you have broken rib”  
Aiden gasped, holding his left: “Yeah, I feel it”  
“You’re fine. Give it couple days”, Mira tossed new sheet in neighbour bed: “Not many made it, I’m afraid”, raspy voice expressed sadness.  
Sadness reached over, grabbing throat and closing in.  
“Your… Robot partner made it. He accompanied the city detective”  
Aiden held his side: “So the whole post”, thoughts fell slowly into place: “Gone”.  
“Yes”, Mira sighed. She crossed arms. Bit of blood showed on her long white jacket’s hems.

“Why don’t the guards… Help? They so close”, every word hurt to say.  
Nurse shrugged: “Beats me. Don’t even bother with city’s own problems, why would they bother with outsiders?”. Mira lit up a cigarette. Aiden looked down in his hands. His breath was slow and rasping.

Hand rubbed the temple. Mira had removed the bandages that had bound him. Slow steps, sip water, doctor’s orders. Aiden shielded his eyes from bright sunlight. First steps were slower, gradually man picked up speed, heading towards city entrance. He had to see it for himself.

Settlement stood silent. Walls were lined with dents, ground was littered with lifelines and blood. The sight was hopeless. Aiden held hand in front of his mouth, staring around him. Homes had been picked clean from what little they’ve had. Water pump was destroyed and workbench broken. He couldn’t comprehend amidst feelings of sorrow and wrath. He slid down against wall, sliding to sit on the ground. Grass hissled silently in the wind.

Synthetic man approached him, his glowing eyes acting as a beacon.  
“Here you are”, Nick stopped on the wall next to him: “Been worried about you”.  
Aiden’s focus snapped out of silence, moving to the detective: “You… have?”  
“Of course”, man’s face frowned. As if it was insulted: “Can you get up?”  
Aiden tugged the wrap around him, as his legs moved and feet pressed against the ground.   
As he got up he felt the extra bit of help he was getting. Mister Valentine’s hand grabbed him under left arm. Aiden bit his lip as the left side straightened and complained about it. Without much thought he put left hand on Valentine’s shoulder. He stared down as fingers grasped the cloth as pain kicked him.  
“Where does it hurt?”  
“Do you feel pain?”, Aiden gasped, as automatic response.  
“Contrary to the popular belief, yes. Plenty”  
Aiden’s face forced up, looking at synth. That didn’t surprise him: “Must be a lot mental anguish?”  
“If all these scars hurt, I don’t know how I’d be. Perhaps I’d just rip rest of face off”.  
Aiden breathed hard, staring at Nick’s face. Trying to find a hint: “Did y-”.  
Nick scowled: “No”. Man sighed, looking at Aiden’s hand on his shoulder. Man’s metallic hand rose, placing it softly over his hand. Steel on warm skin tingled. He felt index finger’s cautious ticking.  
“Ever since I’ve woken up things”, Aiden’s lips left open. He sighed, eyes turning downwards again. Man’s hands cupped his cheeks. Bright amber eyes nailed right in his eyes, pushing and forcing his head to stay still. Aiden trembled but his eyes found the source. His eyes travelled down from eyes to cheeks, noticing lines of scars in synthetic skin. Unhealed, some looking outright painful.  
“I haven’t forgotten that John Keats read”, Aiden’s eyes flowed down to lips. Cupid’s bow was clear and captured his attention.  
“Yeah?”  
“For a moment there I felt so vulnerable. Out of all the places”, his eyes crossed with Nick’s who gently let go from his cheeks. Aiden lost track there: “You had to make me blush in a market”  
Nick was delighted, sneering: “But the red on cheeks brings out your freckles”  
Aiden pushed lips into a pout: “I’m still mad about it”  
Nick’s head tilted: “Awh”.

Aiden realized his face was curled into a smile. Touch of man’s hands still lingered on his mind. What a curious development. Aiden stepped away from man’s closeness, starting move towards Diamond City. He tossed scarf over his shoulder. To look cooler, perhaps.  
“So, are you planning to read me something else anytime soon?”  
Nick joined him on side: “I thought you didn’t like it”  
“Silly, you quote John Keats in bedroom”, Aiden realized afterwards what he had burped out: “I mean the privacy is the key”. How crude.

Nick chuckled: “That’s awfully direct of you. You sure about that idea?”. Chuckle had softened the words, he felt. They walked to Diamond City. As they descended the stairs Aiden looked at Nick, eyes travelling up and down.  
“I’m sure about nothing anymore”, Aiden rolled his head. He turned, leaving: “I’m gonna go to sleep now”. He felt soft grab on his jacket. Aiden veered, Nick putting hand on his shoulder. Man planted kiss on his lips: “Goodnight”, he whispered. Walk back to hotel was confused.


	17. Hardware Passion

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Long chapter, hoo boy. Enjoy some long overdue gay romance stuff. Kissing and laying on top of each other, mostly.

In the dream there was a song. It hummed along cold hallways. Water dripped in his ear and breath turned cold. He found himself standing in front of line of pods. All broken. Nora laying in one, ever frozen in place. How he was feeling was weird. He just inhabited this body, having no thoughts. Song returned. By the time that I do you’ll be gone.

Dream was broken by smell of grease. Aiden’s stomach let out loudest grumble and man’s eyes widened open. He turned and groaned. He saw Codsworth merrily flipping something on a frying pan. He silently mouthed the lyrics that he pulled from the dream. By the time I do you’ll be gone.

“Good morning, Aiden. I ran some errands while you were hibernating”  
Aiden rubbed his temple, escaping the thoughts: “That’s great. Just like old times”, he would had prefered to keep them in his dreams.  
“Old times? Sometimes I wonder how did you exist before I”. Aiden pushed up from bed. Left side of chest ached: “Microwave food has been invented well before you, buddy”. His eyes passed the table. There was plate, utensils and glass and something he could describe as fruits. Aiden stepped to the bathroom.  
“And the nutritional value in those”, Codsworth sighed behind him. Aiden dipped face in handful of water, tapping his face clean. He tried getting his hair in some sort of control. At least looking less pillow-kissed.

Man returned to the room with towel at face.  
Codsworth flipped the frying pan over plate. Some meat and bread dropped on the plate. Aiden curiously sniffed the food, stomach noising again: “What… kind of meat is that?”. All wildlife he had seen had now days extra pair of legs or heads. Not exactly recipe for tasty.

“You can’t eat canned soup for the rest of your life. The combination of small doses of radiation and lack of real vegetables will-”  
“I know”, Aiden pulled out chair and sat at table: “But have you seen the cows? They have two heads. And blood veins popping all over”, he poked the meat with knife’s head.   
He rested the utensil and decided to investigate the fruits. There was a giant plum-looking fruit and a tomato. He grabbed the purple vegetable and sized it in his palm: “Feels like a tomato. But it’s purple. What is this?”  
Codsworth scrubbed frying pan clean: “It’s a mutfruit”  
Aiden turned the thing few times.  
“Just eat, sir”

He put teeth in it and bit off a chunk of fruit. The consistency was like a tomato but it was sweet like a plum. He stopped thinking and just ate the fruit.  
“You liked it?”  
Aiden picked up other fruit that was clearly tomato. Just awfully small and brownish in tint: “Yeah, I’d eat more of those”. He sniffed the peel of tomato, before biting into it. He found this one quite nice too. It was much sweeter than what he remembered. It was like chocolate tomato.

“Noodles, ready mash, salisbury steaks and tomatoes”, Aiden named, grabbing utensils: “That was my bachelor year’s cuisine”, he bit onto the meat. At this point his hunger was awaken and just needed to be quenched.  
Codsworth groaned: “No wonder you’re so short”.  
Aiden laughed. Codsworth poured water in small kettle, placing it inside little opening on top of jet-powered movement unit. That was one of his favorite additions. Working nights at garage, nothing was handier than cup of tea always warm and ready.

“Also, sir could you make a promise to not try helping with cooking this time?”  
Aiden looked up from toast: “How come?”  
“Finding frying pan in this condition was surprisingly difficult. And expensive, I swear”.  
“The last pan was just a little shaky”  
“It turned from one side to another! Sometimes other side wouldn’t heat at all”  
Aiden bit on his toast: “It had an interesting flavour to it”.  
“Just, don’t touch the kitchen utensils”  
He sighed. He was quite a catastrophe in kitchen: “Alright, I won’t”, he smiled. Silence fell in room, aside meat grease smells. Aiden got up to open the window, letting the pesky smell out. He put hand on window frame. His eyes drifted down to the street, going from person to person. Not that he was searching for anyone in particular.

“But think about it, 200 years frozen. Maybe some talents get better when you don’t-”  
“Just don’t, sir”, Codsworth sounded genuinely distressed.  
Aiden’s fingers touched window: “I won’t wake up to the sound of your feet”, he sung softly. Testing what vocal cords liked 200 years of being frozen: “Walking down the hall”.  
“Sir, it’s so refreshing to hear that voice again”  
Aiden looked down: “It’s been so long”, he rubbed his neck: “Feels tickly. Lack of practise”.  
Codsworth whistled and wizarded up can of water, offering. Aiden took it and put it in his bag.

\--

He had managed to find some handyman work. Power lines that had been shaken by the recent storm. He stood comfortably against the pole, getting out his tools and started loosening the wires. Something had woken up with him this morning. He had been musical before war, studying classical piano and singing since young. Something happened at war, the notes didn’t pulse like they used to. Something had obstruct the tongue.  
“I won’t look back on a past so long”, his voice echoed softly on top of noise of urban. He removed broken wires, dropping them down. He wired new ones, as voice burned in his head: “I won’t look back on the things gone wrong”.

Working, brisk noon air in face and song in heart. Dare he say it? He felt home.  
“I won’t look back”, he finished the tightening, turning attention down. To the people walking by. Some heads turned, looking back at him. Most just ignored and walked on.  
“Cause by the time that I do you’ll be gone”. He stepped down, returning to the ground. He walked over to the next pole.

He would be lying if said there wasn’t someone specific he was searching in the crowd. Aiden wasn’t quite sure where his head was at. He knew exactly what his heart was doing. Filling his head with all these sappy love songs from the past. They returned in droves. Like doves, each carrying message. Message in form of song, a promise of love. He got slapped in face by a wire. That’s what he gets for thinking soft thoughts while cutting wires.

He twisted and turned the wire, creating new contacts. He heard talking that caught his attention.

“So if you happen to come across something with those colours, let me know?”  
“Sure but no promises”, Nick’s smoke caught his nose: “Especially considering that would involve turn in Goodneighbor”.  
Cait’s brash smile flashed and she poked Nick’s shoulder: “Oh come on, you’ve gotta have contacts”.  
Aiden cut the wire and closed the lid. He climbed down.  
“I will see about that”  
“Well you and the mayor get along”  
“Let’s not bring John into this”, Nick took a firm step back.  
“Maybe if you roped your cargo they wouldn’t run off, Cait”, Aiden walked up, feeling slightly sassy.  
Cait turned looking at him, rolling her eyes: “Your butler had no legs to rope”.  
Nick gave him a quick look and a smile.  
Cait seemed to suddenly remember something: “We’re heading back tonight. You in?”  
Aiden turned, unsure if he heard Cait right: “Trip back? With you two?”  
“Three, Bruce was shot but he’s well”.  
Aiden snickered slightly: “I’ll pass, darling”, hand on hip: “I prefer my lungs radioactivity free”.

“I mean, technically, I suppose there is radioactivity in just about everything”, Aiden ran his mouth again: “Licking lampposts might not be smartest”.  
His eyes passed to Nick. Aiden put his hands together. They were sitting at bench, enjoying some shade and rest.  
Nick took cigarette out of mouth: “You sound rested”, he turned attention to him: “Happy to see you up and about”.  
“What was Cait after?”, too much curiosity.  
“Lost shipment”, man leaned on the bench, arm rose over the shoulder rest behind him.  
“Lost or ran away?”, Aiden side eyed man’s opened shoulder area. He felt like it was an invitation.  
“Or used”, Nick shrugged. Aiden had shakes from idea. He eyed Nick, unsure what was appropriate. Or if it was at all.

“Do you think she”, question left in the air.  
“Addictions show really fast. Something in the climate. General harshness”, Aiden felt gentle thug of man’s hand on his back. His eyes closed for a moment, processing the tingling: “Not to be downer or anything”.  
Aiden sighed. Not at all. He was feeling anything but downer right now. Lips pressed together he leaned back on the bench. Nick’s hand sat on his back, just staying there. Man inhaled last bits of smokes.  
“I was thinking. I have a case. If you would be interested”, Nick’s voice was raspy and thoughtful. “Does it have to do with electronics or music, by any chance?”, Aiden turned at man. “Don’t undersell yourself. I’d use another old world pair of eyes on this”.  
Aiden smiled crooked smile: “I’ll happily lend you my eyes”, Aiden bit his lip softly, as his eyes stayed in glowing amber: “And other parts”.

Nick frowned but look changed to a grin: “So much for being discreet”. Aiden leaned closer, fingers travelling along detective’s arm. Their lips met and sealed for a moment. It was longer than last night’s peck.

\--

Agency was dark, kinda lonely. Full of same details as before. They bothered him. Nick poured whiskey and offered him a glass.  
“You mentioned something about a case”, Aiden decided to push stuff off the guest chair and seated himself. He had done so much standing today he deserved the warmth of semi-soft cushions.  
Nick drank the alcohol and Aiden realized he was pondering just where did that liquid go to.  
“I have a lot of cases. Anything in particular?”  
Aiden smiled against the glass that he held against his lips. Sweet resin nettled muzzle so swell: “Mmmh, I was wondering if it was pure intentions or honest suggestion”.  
Nick held the cup between his metallic fingers, weighting it: “Let’s see. A man of your looks, after hours ‘case check out’ with an old detective”, he smiled deviously: “I see nothing indecent about this”.  
Alcohol kicked cheeks, putting smile in hips lips and warmth in tip of tongue: “So, what does a detective do on long, lonely nights?”

Nick gently rolled the glass between his fingers. Amber eyes checked down for a fraction before returning: “I want you to know what you’re trifling with”, Nick’s voice was soft: “I’m a broken down synth. You’re a human”.  
“I know, Nick”.  
“Sometimes I pop a limb. From friction. Weight. Speed. It just comes loose”  
Aiden frowned. Alcohol blurs: “What… how?”  
“When I get on top of someone”.  
Aiden’s reaction was slowed. He felt extra burn on cheeks as his imagination went wild. What other parts popped loose. “I see”, Aiden responded weakly.  
“So what I do on long, lonely nights? Sometimes I have company. Not always. Don’t take me for that kind of… robot. I’ve heard stories of this one. That’s programmed for pleasure”. Something about how man uttered certain words. Sent shivers down spine.  
“Suppose I could be one as well”. Aiden emptied the glass, putting it down on the table. His frail hand seeked refuge in front of his mouth, biting on the index finger softly.

“What are you thinking?”  
Man’s voice penetrated his mind.  
Aiden’s mouth moved along the finger: “I don’t know how to say it”.  
Mister Valentine’s head tilted, amber eyes looking deep into him: “Doesn’t hurt trying, darling”.

Aiden pushed himself up from chair. He was horrible with words anyways. He carefully put hand down on armrest, grabbing Nick’s left hand.  
His fingers glide gently on synth’s cheek, eyes locking as he leaned over Nick. He put lips on Nick’s lips. There was no rush or hesitation. Just them two.

As their lips locked he felt soft touch on his shoulder. Touch that moved along to back of his neck, rough fingers moved against his hair. Man tucked short back of hair, grabbing and holding him. Aiden breathed surprised against the lips.  
“You’re so gorgeous, you know that?”, Nick breathed softly. His other hand rose, cupping his cheek. Cold metal embraced the scorching pink.  
“N-not really, it’s the genes-”, man shut him up with a firm kiss. So firm he felt air escaping and has to gasp for air on next unleash.  
“That is bullshit and you know it, gorgeous”, man’s voice was surprisingly firm. Contrasting against soft touch that moved along his cheek and down to his chin. Man grabbed his neck as chilly skeletal hand moved along his trembling neck. Adam’s apple trembled and heaved. Aiden bit his lip as fingers moved along his skin, reaching the warmer parts of body. He stood there, nose against man’s own. Breathing, silently.

“I… never considered other man”, Aiden said as his finger moved softly along the cracked skin. Nick breathed slowly. Hands still cupping his face: “Wasteland does things to a person”.  
Finger raced down neck and metal moved along the skin softly. Tingles raced across his skin.

\--

In the darkness, character moved. Aiden opened his eyes, eerie amber passed through room. He heard the soft rustle of fabric and Nick sit at the side of bed. Aiden lift his head, leaning on his side with hand on the mattress.

Synth held up his left hand. Metallic grasp opened like a flower: “I try to be as careful as I can. This… thing is tricky”.  
“I have an oven mitt if you got reservations”. Lowermost leg of his pushed forward. Slowly. Calculated.  
Amber eyes checked the leg, returning to his face then: “You’re wearing enough layers, touching you is hard enough right now”. Aiden bit his lip softly.  
“You talk like it’s a an obstacle”.  
“What I’m saying is”, synth grunted, searching for a word: “You could get better”.  
Aiden reached his hand to man: “Let me”, Aiden touched the metallic hand, finger moving along the cold metal. Fingers wrapped around hand, feeling the starting rust, sharp and age.  
“I don’t see why we couldn’t get this to work”, Aiden’s jawline inclined, softly he led the hand towards him.

Hands parted in a flash. Nick put his right hand down on Aiden’s leg, stroking it for a moment. From there hand moved up his kneecap. Synthetic man turned and climbed onto bed. Aiden slid to his back, legs lifting and unfolding. His hand travelling down right thigh Nick got on top of him, face to face. Aiden’s fingers ran unsure across the new terrain. He felt rugged cloth, ruined by time and hash weather. Not nearly as tattered as the trench he usually wore. His fingers reached up to shoulders, moving along the lines, feeling. The construct under cloth wasn’t skin. It was tougher. He still felt warmth on fingertips.

They pressed lips together. Among kiss he felt Nick’s hand moving along his shoulder, pushing down to his chest and on the waist, grabbing his hip with sudden firmness. Aiden followed example, seizing man’s shoulder. He stared at amber glow. Worn face expressed such a soft smile. Aiden cupped man by the neck, not letting go. There might not had been anything deeper tonight. And Aiden was fine with that.


	18. Cat

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Another long chapter.  
> Investigating Aiden's old place of employment. Microcosm of emotions happen. This chapter took awhile to do but I'm alright pleased with it.

“Where have you been?”  
Morning dawned foggy and rainy as the agency door pushed open.  
Aiden stepped in, holding a small lump in his arms. He was wearing Nick’s worn trench jacket. Oversized sleeves dragged over his shoulders and long coat covered over his body. Water dripped from his gingery hair down his face but all his care went to the little shivering lump in his arms. Aiden held cat close, arms crossed over it. Cat’s fur was midlength and messy. The fur had turtle pattern and there was black spot on its nose. Aiden’s dark blue shirt was combination of wet and cat fur. Nick got up from his chair, walking over table to Aiden.  
“I heard the saddest meow”.

“There could had been raiders behind that door, you know?”  
Cat’s claws grabbed the sleeve of his shirt. Nick wasn’t angry, just worried. Not even a synth could resist the temptation of a cat. Soon enough both of them were petting the cat. Cat’s claws slinked determinedly underneath Aiden’s shirt, away from cold.  
Wet creature pressed against his warm chest and Aiden jumped a little.  
“Okay, now he’s being bit too friendly”  
Nick let out a soft chuckle. Aiden had no choice but to slip the shirt off, letting cat have it

“It wasn’t awfully smart of me, I suppose”, Aiden lift the ball of starting warmness on his shoulder. Like a baby that was happily tearing on his shirt.

“These cats are shared”, man paused, as his lips searched for good term: “Not property”. He gently scratched cat’s chin with his metallic arm: “So don’t get too attached“.  
“I’ll try”, cat planted its paws on Aiden’s shoulder. Tiny paws closed in, grabbing onto his shoulder. He had to sneer.  
“Cats keep the rats away”, Nick uttered next words: “Small ones. In exchange they get food”  
“Can we keep him until the rain has settled?”  
Nick’s head tilted. His yellow eyes had adoring look to them.  
“He’s all drenched and dirty”, Aiden added tinily.  
Nick smiled: “Alright. Are you sure it’s a he?”  
Aiden peered around, blocked by cat on his shoulder: “Could always check”  
“No”, Nick’s nose wrinkled in rejection: “Inspecting feline’s privates is not part of my contract”.  
Aiden snickered.

\--

Cat purred on vacant chair with Aiden’s shirt as his bed. Aiden wished he had got second shirt nearby. He sat at chair, wrapped in trench coat, eyeing curiously as Nick went through folders.  
“Are you cold?”  
“No”, Aiden’s hand moved along tattered trench fabric. His eyes wandered around the room, unsurely, before landing back on Nick: “After yesterday I’m anything but cold”.  
Nick’s hand stopped and his face turned to him: “It was lovely”, synthetic face warming into a smile. The kind that gave fuzzy feeling and kicked up warmth on cheeks.

Sudden door lock clicking interrupted their train. Agency door opened behind him and in walked lean and surprisingly neat looking woman.  
“Good morning, Ellie”, Nick greeted. Aiden tugged coat around him, slipping his arms inside the sleeves.

Woman named Ellie stopped. She was dressed in faded rose skirt with brown jacket and scarf tugged on top. She had fresh newspaper under her arm and notepad on another. She tucked hair pin between lips as Ellie gathered her hazel hair into a bun and slipped pin in: “Nick, hello”, her interest turned to him: “Who’s our friend?”, her brown eyes glimmered with curiosity.  
Aiden closed oversized jacket along his body: “I uhm”, he wasn’t in exactly ideal place to be introduced to anyone.  
“This is Aiden. He was mugged. Everything taken. Even his shirt”  
Aiden wrapped jacket tighter. He gave Nick quick glance.  
Ellie sighed, turning back to him: “I hate to say you’re not the first or the last. Are you alright?”  
Aiden nodded, shamed: “Yes, it’s fine. Really”.

Ellie smiled. Her eye didn’t stray and she politely offered her hand: “I’m Ellie Perkins”.  
“Aiden. Nice to meet you”, they shook hands.  
“Is that a fresh number?”, Nick interrupted behind the papers.  
Ellie pried eyes away and took the newspaper from under her arm. She rolling it onto a tube and gently tapped Nick’s hat with it. Nick gave woman confused look and took the paper.  
“Fresh as a daisy”, Ellie sighed deeply, staring at man’s desk: “My last week’s hard work”.

\--

Nick was promptly shooing away from frontdesk as Ellie rolled up her sleeves and began organizing the mess synth had left. For a robotic creation he surely had little regard for tidiness. Aiden wasn’t sure if it was adorably human or irritating. Nick switched on the lamp at the corner table, lighting up a cigarette and opening the newspaper.

Aiden tapped fingers together: “Uhm, so how long you’ve known each other?”  
“Couple of years now”, Ellie looked at Nick over shoulder: “I’m not really sure. Time passes when working”, she slid papers in fine piles, gently tapping them against the desk surface before sliding the pile in a folder.  
She gestured at pip boy: “You must feel awfully timed with that”  
“What do you mean?”, he tapped the button, checking time as reflex.  
“That is a luxury not many have. Most just look at sky. Day dawns, day begins. Sky darkens, everyone goes to bed. Simple as”.  
Aiden’s finger moved idly against the button on his wrist: “That feels so distant. I remember exact schedule. Working from 8 to 5. Cooking at 6, eating at 6.30--”

Ellie stopped, staring at him long: “Wait, you’re from?”, she looked through his person careful. What she could see as Aiden still had Nick’s jacket on.  
“He’s from vault”, Nick added softly at the corner.  
“So that explains your teeth”, Ellie put hands on the desk, head tilting as she curiously looked at him. Aiden felt need to close his lips.  
“Nobody in settlement would have teeth like that”. Ellie moved papers and something rolled over notepads and bullets, dropping on floor in front of him. Aiden leaned over, picking up a piece. Simple looking screw woke memories in head.

“I recognize this handwork”, he turned the bit in his hand: “It was commissioned by a big client. 4 months of work to reduce original weight of”, he rubbed his temple. Sharp pain scratched like ice: “135 kg to 115 kg”, scratching to the bone.  
“What is it?”, Ellie asked.  
Aiden’s head was still a freezer but visual stimulations like this pushed icecaps into slide, unearthing old memories as clear as a day.

“It was made for construction machinery. Single component made virtually indestructible by seriously lowered stress level”, Aiden grabbed his forehead. He had suddenly beating headache: “Funny… How it’s still held together. 200 years later”.  
“That was found on the kidnapping spot of the Gil’s case, wasn’t it?”, Nick broke in.  
Ellie gestured for the component. Aiden handed it over: “God, this headache”. His head was a minefield. He covered forehead with arm and fingers protected from light.  
“Must be the freezing effect”, Nick walked around the table.  
Aiden groaned and slapped his own temple: “Nill’s. That’s the name of the factory”  
“Nills”, Ellie scribbled name down.  
It took him good while to realize where they were headed. It was like homecoming.

\--

Something slid down the roof, bouncing heavily down to the street before him. Judging the crust and dirt it had been for awhile. Aiden discarded the arm as memories started pouring in.   
Factory’s large roof had mostly given up, collapsed on the third floor.  
Nick kicked the arm away: “Is this it?”

“Yes”, inexplicable sense of displacement fell over. Aiden grabbed his pip boy, checking the date and year. He knew where he was, just wasn’t sure. As they passed through yard they were greeted by lines of destroyed cars and other machinery. First skeletal remains lied sitting at the booth that was the check-point for all trucks. Today they merely slipped past the broken gate. As he stepped to the factory yard, faint clicking echoed from Aiden’s wrist watch.  
“Do you have rad-x with you?”, Nick reminded.

Quickly Aiden opened his bag and munched down a pill: “We want to stay away from power central”, he looked to far left where rose metal fence and tall towers. Powerlines had long ago gone out in here.  
“I was expecting more raiders”, Nick peered around him.  
Aiden frowned: “I’m happy with less”. 

“It’s amazing how I remember”, Aiden’s arms emoted as he looked along the long wall, looking for a hole: “It’s like vertigo at the same time”, his hand stopped at window frame that was all wonky and off the frame. Pushed down by collapsed wall and roof panels.  
“What was this establishment for?”  
“Specialized machinery parts. For building, mill, wherever heavy machinery moved heavier stuff. To reduce the stress and lighten the load and increase the usage--”  
“Machinery, you say?”, Nick scratched his chin very humanly: “Did this include military by any chance?”, Nick peered at him long: “Or would you know that?”  
“I wasn’t that important”, Aiden shrugged. He located half-collapsed window: “Here’s the locker room”.

\--

Pip boy provided little light. Daylight was still plenty. Aiden had pistol out, Nick followed behind him. They walked through old dresser room. More of a hall. Once it had been lined with navy blue lockers on two rooms, in third room between the two was shower and saunas. Ceramic tiles had faded into grey. Wild life was pushing through the floor.

First line of cabins was completely wiped out, reduced into mere rubble.  
“What are we looking for?”  
“My old cabin. I’m banking for a miracle”.  
At the back of the room rest of cabins lied silent and mostly untouched.   
Guided by a habit, Aiden walked to back row and found his old cabin. Lock was loose and little pull made the mechanisms give up. Door bended open.

Bottom of the cabin was huge line of old dust, thick and hard as concrete. His old jumpsuit hanged from hanger, legs were covered in that thick material. Aiden touched the fabric softly, grabbing the hanger and pulling the blue suit out of the locker. He held onto first concrete relic of his past.

His old construction helm lied on the top shelf. He slid hand in jumpsuit pocket, pulling out his worker id alongside clearance permissions and a photo. Nora smiling in lovely blue floral dress. He had come here to look for clues. He hold to the picture, staring at it and feeling sad burn in chest. It was like waking up when he snapped out of Nora’s smile and looked around him. Aiden put the picture quickly in his shirt pocket and grabbed rest of papers.

Thank goddess Nick wasn’t standing behind him instead carrying on with the investigations. As if he had needed help to begin with.

Aiden slid open cabin next to him. He moved the blue jumper within, checking the id. Jensen. He repeated same for the third cabin. Duront.  
He moved fingers along the cabin doors. At every door he recalled something about its owner. He was horrible at names but there was always something that stood out. Maybe nose or specific scent. This factory certainly had never smelled great but 200 years had done unspeakable things to the air.

Aiden walked to the end of locker row. The end wall was torn and exposed hall underneath. Collapsed roof shed light on rubble, long tables and chairs. Aiden stopped, eyes moving around the old cafeteria. Room’s smell somehow had gotten worse. Aiden grabbed onto the wall as the shock slammed him in the face. It was a miracle he didn’t slip and fall himself. He managed to retain balance and fell backwards on his ass instead. He couldn’t see the hall anymore but he could see it with mind’s eye. Among rubble lied lied corpses. By a dozen. Aiden held his mouth shut with both hands.

“We should go”.  
Aiden turned, horrified. Wounded. “They’re really dead. Everyone”, he barely had a voice.  
Nick stepped behind the cabinets to lean on one.  
“How am I even”, what were sentences anymore. Looking back at this moment, he had lost solid memories. For all he remembered he had been carried out of there.

\--

Turtle coated cat Aiden had brought in earlier today rested in his lap. Aiden brushed its softer fur. He had given it a little wash despite protests. His arms had few glorious battle scars. Now both heroes sat on bed, victorious. And clean. He heard Nick mingling in the shadows. He had always adored cats, even if they were incapable of caring.

“What are you thinking?”  
Aiden shelved the family photo off his mind: “Delicious foods”, he tried.  
“Such as?”  
“Potatoes and fresh steak. And cold beer”. That mental image was way too good to ignore. He could smell the boiled potatoes, grease and spices. The sensation that first slice and soft meat. His stomach grumbled.

Aiden’s finger crawled along the tie, gently tugging man down over him: “Maybe you could speak more John Keats for me?”  
Nick said nothing. To his surprise a pillow landed on his face.  
“Aww”, Aiden let out a sad noise. He felt bed rocking softly. Aiden flipped the pillow and received lips on his.  
He felt Nick’s hand on his chest. Moving softly along the shirt. Metal scratched slightly, giving stinging sensation when passing over his left nipple.  
Lips parted but still nearby, Nick spoke: “The poetry of the earth is never dead”  
Aiden bit his lip, looking deep in Nick’s eyes: “It’s a great reason to live for”.

Nick’s looks pierced him. Aiden felt emotions bursting. He had to pull himself back to sitting. As much as he had liked to nest. Aiden put hand on his cheek, slouching from his sitting position: “I can’t get today off my mind”.  
He felt Nick laying hand on his back. Softer hand drew figures on the back: “Did you know many of them?”  
“Some. Most were just faces”, his finger grasped the pillow: “But still. 200 years later, I still remember”.  
Nick’s hand travelled on his back, comforting: “Then mourn. Take your time. Then let them go.”  
Aiden’s head turned, seeing Nick’s figure. He tried forming words but couldn’t find any.  
“I’ll try to”  
Nick’s hand ran along his hair, petting the skull softly. Aiden shifted, leaning on man, catching his lips with his fingertips. Aiden brushed lips against Nick’s and smooched them good and hard. Nick moved in to grab him proper. It felt promising and good. But time wasn’t good and Aiden softly pushed himself away. He wanted but his flesh couldn’t.

Nick let go, politely sitting next to him: “I’m going to continue the investigation tomorrow. I’ll be out of town”. Aiden turned, eyes widened: “Alright”.  
“I would prefer if you stayed behind. The place is very dangerous. Too much for you”  
Aiden’s face turned downwards: “I… Are you sure?”  
“Last thing I want is you to get harmed. Again”

He couldn’t really argue with that. He was big sack of fear, ready to be kicked. Aiden nodded silently. Eyes looked down, his head was now full of fears. Aiden moved quickly, seizing Nick in his arms. His small hands curved around Nick’s back, eyes full of tears. He held onto man like he was drowning.  
“Please don’t get yourself killed”, he whimpered.  
Nick looked at him, visibly shocked. Nick put hands around Aiden, kissing his cheek long and well: “Never in my plans, doll”.  
Aiden buried his tears in tattered trench coat.


	19. Home

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's been too long break. Real sorry about it.  
> Playing Overwatch and swept into that fandom. Next chapter unsure.

Lock released. Man pushed door open to dark apartment. He was greeted by mellow brown floor and deep brown walls. Aiden stepped inside, holding calico cat in his arms. Nick had departed to a work trip and to be fair, the cat was his own idea.

Codsworth followed after, holding a suitcase: “How is it sir?”, Codsworth whistled inside, closing the door.  
“It’s alright”, Next to door was little bathroom. Aiden walked past kitchen corner to the open space with windows and a little door. Curiously, he opened the door finding it was parisian style. He let air run. Bed sat in the backcorner, lacking mattress.

“I need to buy a mattress and carpet”, Aiden lowered cat down. It dropped to explore the new world. The walls had uneven rugged texture. He could hear the downstairs. But the place was his own.

“Maybe something to cover windows too”  
Aiden stepped at windows. There was neighbor immediately across the window, with better balconies. He held off his thoughts: “Yeah”.  
This was his place and it would make do.  
….

He pushed the balcony door open. Great for just fanning the room. Aiden sat to the floor, picking up the cup and taking sip of it. He observed downstairs but mostly he observed the sky and its many flavors.

“Do you remember television, Codsworth?”  
“How could I not? I still remember exact times for tuning in”  
“For news”  
“And I Love Lucy”  
How he wished there was always on time episode of sitcom and newspaper awaiting him. Instead he had bullets and radio awaiting to be fixed. Calico cat bounced in man’s lap without warning. Man shook a little but he rested hand on purring soft back. Gently, he touched the animal that was still quite a mystery. But weren’t cats always? Purring beauty tapped him on shoulder.

“If grandpa could see us now. If only”, his voice dripped into tea. He sipped, he drank for his creeping sorrows. Mere warm water wouldn’t help if demons turned real again.

He left the door ajar. Soft evening air blew through apartment. Aiden sat down behind the desk and brought up the radio that he had received from Valentine Detective Agency.

\--

9 am sharp, Aiden was standing behind the faded brick red door, carrying a radio. Bright red sign buzzed on behind him, rising all sorts of worries. Ellie opened the door.  
“Oh wow, I wasn’t expecting to get it back this soon”, she opened the door further and Aiden stepped in.  
“I had time”, Aiden smiled, looking around the room.  
“Side desk is fine. We’ve had that thing mute couple months now”.  
Aiden put the machine down and immediately tuned in: “How? The problem was very simple”  
“Nick’s been meaning to get around to it but”, she hand waved softly: “Always something”.  
“Yeah”, Aiden responded silently. He switched the radio on, tuning to find a channel. He remembered when there used to be choices. Warm sound clicked on, some mellow tunes started playing.  
“That helps hours run by”, Ellie sat down: “I have missed so many episodes of Night tales”.  
“Do they air those still?”, Aiden frowned. He took seat next to radio, staring at it. As if the thing would fall apart if he stopped looking at it.  
“Oh yes. This is eleventh season”  
Eleven? So many.  
“Obviously the host has changed”, Ellie added: “Ghoulification took too much hold”.  
Aiden frowned, staying silent. Air was filled by mellow music for a moment.

“If you ever need anything. I know I’m just a secretary but I.. I’ll try to help”.  
Aiden put hands on top of others: “I’ll be fine”. What a genuine soul.  
“Being alone isn’t good. In anything”.  
Aiden looked down on his hands. Streaked with tears and dirt, rough cuts, sore. They wouldn’t get any better tomorrow.  
“How do you cope with loss?”, Aiden heard himself saying.  
Ellie shifted in chair. She searched for words, right ones, to say. From one scarred soul to another: “This might sound crazy but you get used to it”.  
Looking up he met her eyes. He couldn’t really hide the hurt that had emerged.  
“It will feel bad. Unbearable”, she bit lips tightly together: “Maybe finding something else… Will make it less obvious”


End file.
